The Toronto Real Estate Board has released the monthly housing market update for September. Year over year volume comparison (based on working days in September) is down about 12.5% compared to the same period last year. Although volume is down, prices remain strong as new listing inventory levels are low.
Toronto Real Estate Board releases July 2012 home price index
The Toronto Real Estate Board has released their monthly update to the home price index for the GTA. TREB reports 7,570 sales in July 2012, showing a small a decline of 1.5 per cent compared to 7,683 sales for the same period 2011. The decline was most pronounced in the condominium apartment segment in Toronto. Total sales in the rest of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) were up compared to the same period last year.
Wonder what houses are selling for in your area?
Wonder what houses are selling for in your area? Here's a detailed Toronto Real Estate Board Summary Report for June 2012. It shows Sales by municipality and home type:
MLS Home Price Tables, June 2012
It's time for the 2012 Unionville Festival
It's that time of year again - the annual Unionville Festival arrives on June 1st to 3rd 2012. This street festival is always a fantastic draw to the area, with locals and tourists flocking to walk the closed streets, enjoy the parade, and shop amongst the many local vendors. The Stivers Mill hosts a fantastic Farmers Market, the Bandstand is loaded with a variety of entertainment, and don't miss the big parade at 10am on Saturday morning!
Unionville Festival Event Schedule:
Friday, June 1
on Main Street
6:30 p.m. Markham Stouffville Hospital Bed Races
7 – 11 p.m. Quincy Bullen Band, John Park Comedy Juggler
at the Millennium Bandstand
6 p.m The Trevor Show
8 p.m. Bed Race Awards
8:30 – 10:30 p.m. Cece Pastor & Word of Mouth
Saturday, June 2
on Main Street
10 a.m. Festival Parade
by Crosby Arena
All Day Funzone
12 - 8 p.m. Beer Garden
at Toogood Pond
11 – 2 p.m. Melody Ranch Band
11 - 2 p.m. Pondapalooza
Dusk Festival Fireworks
at Crosby Park
1:30 – 7:30 p.m. King of Nothing, The Tonedogs, Danny Marks and The Jack De Keyzer Band
at Starbucks
12:30 – 4:30 p.m. Oui B. Jamin
at the Stairs
1 – 5 p.m. Trading Hearts
at Blacksmith’s Bistro Driveway
1:30 – 5:30 p.m. Project Phoenix
at the Millennium Bandstand
1 – 3 p.m. Pierre Elliot Trudeau High School Band
3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Markham Concert Band
Sunday, June 3
on Main Street
Rob Christian Band, George Olliver & Gangbuster, Tim Holland Puppet Tamer
at the Millennium Bandstand
11 a.m. Dan the Music Man
1 and 3:30 p.m. FindingRhythm Drumming Circle
2 p.m. Not Affiliated Big Band
4 p.m. MGB Rocks
at Crosby Park
11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Family Fun Activities, Treasure Hunt
11 a.m. - 1 p.m. RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon rides
For more information be sure to check out the Unionville Festival website at www.unionvillefestival.com.
Real Estate Agents finally try to stop killing trees
LEGISLATION TO ENHANCE ELECTRONIC REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS INTRODUCED AT QUEEN’S PARK
Catching up with current technology, a private members bill co-sponsored by Progressive Conservative MPP Todd Smith (Prince Edward-Hastings) and Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi (Ottawa Centre), if passed, would provide a much needed reduction in paper usage, typically assocaited with complex real estate transactions.
The legislation would facilitate the use of electronic agreements of purchase and sale by extending the legal protections afforded by the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000.
A side benefit we will expect to see, is a proliferation of robust software applications to allow real estate professionals to take advantate of the 'paperless' transaction process. You could be signing for the purchase of your next new home on a smartphone or iPad!
From OREA Blog
Follow conventional Real Estate wisdom, or take a chance?
Conventional Real Estate wisdom states that you should sell and buy in the same market. This Globe and Mail artilcle focuses on a couple who are selling today at a good profitable price, then renting for a while with the expectation of returning to the market after the downturn in prices.
What if the market does not turn down? They could become perpetual Renters.
At first, she and her husband thought about selling in the traditionally strong spring market, and then buying another home during the traditional summer slowdown. Now, they see no rush to buy back in. Instead, they will rent a four-bedroom house for a one-year period in which they’ll look at their options
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/mortgages/home-buying/ready-to-be-bold-sell-the-house-and-rent/article2418383/ via @globeandmail
An NHL-ready multi-use arena in Downtown Markham?
Thinking back to when I first moved into Markham back in 1971, the small town had just under 40,000 residents, and was certainly considered a bedroom community. It is amazing to see how evolved the Markham and surrounding area have become, and it is great to see the careful thought and planning that is going into the Downtown Markham 20-year plan. With over 300,000 people now calling Markham home, and with continued growth to come, the increased availability of top-tier facilities is a welcome addition to our town.
The Toronto Star has a good article today on the impact this 20,000 seat arena may or may not have on the local economy (See: Markham's NHL bait)
If Markham succeeds, it could be another Winnipeg, whose “intangible” benefits from getting the Jets back would probably rival the GDP of Canada. @Torontostar
Artist's rendering of Downtown Markham ArenaIt will be interesting to see how this proposal pans-out, but overall it is great to see these types of facilitys coming to our area.
Some great tips and tricks for do-it-yourselfers
People are always looking for great tips to aid in their remodelling or staging of thier homes. We've put together some great tips that we have found for your weekend projects:
- Inexpensive way for a do-it-yourselfer to build larger 'faux baseboards' for a more contemporary look on a budget. Take a look at this simple step by step guide: www.houseofsmiths.com
- Increase your storage space and reduce clutter - use cupboard and closet doors for storage: www.apartmenttherapy.com
- Use wooden shutters to create interesting entryway organizers: www.marthastewart.com
- Mount your HDTV on IKEA poles to keep your walls hole and damage-free: www.ikeahackers.net
- Label your paint cans with what they painted: blog.makezine.com
- Clean stains and marks in your stone countertops using peroxide and flour for an easy fix: www.thisoldhouse.com
- 5 Smart ways to use mirrors in small spaces, to maximise your visual space: www.apartmenttherapy.com
The average selling price in the GTA was $501,614 in March – up by 10 per cent in comparison to March 2011
Year over year figures are up again, as the Toronto Real Estate Board releases its monthly sales figures for March 2012.
“The GTA resale market has not suffered from a lack of willing buyers this year. Buyers have been spurred on by the positive affordability picture brought about by low mortgage rates,”Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver
We expect to see York Region to remain strong throughout the spring season, with inventory levels increasing as more homeowners put their real estate on the market.
Report via TREB
Is your neighbourhood hot or not?
You can visualise the housing market in each of the MLS zones of the GTA using this great Google map tool, courtesy of the Toronto Star.
TREB (Toronto Real Estate Board) analysts compared each zone’s average number of listings to the area’s average selling time in order to establish how long it would take for all the property to be sold off.
Click the image below to see a current map visualization (new window will open):
