February 2010
- Thread starter Ally
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What they got Jan. 30Davenport: $479,000Lansdowne Ave. and Lappin Ave.Asking price: $479,900Selling price: $479,000
Previous selling price: $225,000 (1999)
Size: about 2,500 square feet
Lot: 17.94 by 120 feet, two-car detached garage, lane drive
Taxes: $2,712.26 (2008)
Bedrooms: 4 plus 1
Bathrooms: 3
Days on market: 144
Details: With three separate and contained apartments, this semi-detached two-storey brick-and-stone west-end Toronto home sold very close to the asking price.
"It`s a great investment property in a great location. It is one of the largest homes in the area and it has been extensively renovated with generous room sizes and open-concept kitchens and living rooms," says listing agent Nelson Campos.
The home is walking distance to Bloor St. and many parks in the area, including the large Earlscourt Park. Also close by are bakeries, a library, Sobeys, a community centre, the Junction Big Box Shopping centre, TTC and a medical clinic.
Read the full article here.
Previous selling price: $225,000 (1999)
Size: about 2,500 square feet
Lot: 17.94 by 120 feet, two-car detached garage, lane drive
Taxes: $2,712.26 (2008)
Bedrooms: 4 plus 1
Bathrooms: 3
Days on market: 144
Details: With three separate and contained apartments, this semi-detached two-storey brick-and-stone west-end Toronto home sold very close to the asking price.
"It`s a great investment property in a great location. It is one of the largest homes in the area and it has been extensively renovated with generous room sizes and open-concept kitchens and living rooms," says listing agent Nelson Campos.
The home is walking distance to Bloor St. and many parks in the area, including the large Earlscourt Park. Also close by are bakeries, a library, Sobeys, a community centre, the Junction Big Box Shopping centre, TTC and a medical clinic.
Read the full article here.
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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.
Confidence has made a comeback, the Toronto Star-sponsored roundtable agreed.
"There`s a cautious optimism out there," said Linda O`Connor, vice-president and managing director of Ryan Design Inc.
"Purchasers realized that the world didn`t end," added L.A. Inc. vice-president David Klugsberg.
Things have changed, though, the participants said.
For one thing, purchasers who have been wading into the waters in the past six months are a warier and wiser lot.
Read the full article here.
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.
Confidence has made a comeback, the Toronto Star-sponsored roundtable agreed.
"There`s a cautious optimism out there," said Linda O`Connor, vice-president and managing director of Ryan Design Inc.
"Purchasers realized that the world didn`t end," added L.A. Inc. vice-president David Klugsberg.
Things have changed, though, the participants said.
For one thing, purchasers who have been wading into the waters in the past six months are a warier and wiser lot.
Read the full article here.
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When names and boundaries get fuzzy
Many people already know it as Junction Triangle, but it may soon get a new name.
Or not.
That moniker is still on a short list of ten names that residents of the west-end neighbourhood will get to choose from in a two-week vote, starting March 1.
The short list, released Saturday, was whittled down from more than 230 suggested names, following a series of public meetings and a round of voting that ended Friday.
"The great thing is that it gets people thinking about the neighbourhood, things they like and dislike," says Kevin Putnam, who launched the "Fuzzy Boundaries" naming process more than a year ago.
The neighbourhood, which lies just to the east and south of The Junction, is shaped like a triangle and surrounded on all sides by rail lines, although those boundaries can get a little fuzzy, since some would extend the area as far north as Davenport Rd.
Not surprisingly, rail references figure prominently among the rest of the short-listed names: South Junction Triangle, East Junction, Railpath, Railtown, Black Oak Triangle, Rail District, The Wedge, The Triangle and Perth Park.
Read the full article here.
Many people already know it as Junction Triangle, but it may soon get a new name.
Or not.
That moniker is still on a short list of ten names that residents of the west-end neighbourhood will get to choose from in a two-week vote, starting March 1.
The short list, released Saturday, was whittled down from more than 230 suggested names, following a series of public meetings and a round of voting that ended Friday.
"The great thing is that it gets people thinking about the neighbourhood, things they like and dislike," says Kevin Putnam, who launched the "Fuzzy Boundaries" naming process more than a year ago.
The neighbourhood, which lies just to the east and south of The Junction, is shaped like a triangle and surrounded on all sides by rail lines, although those boundaries can get a little fuzzy, since some would extend the area as far north as Davenport Rd.
Not surprisingly, rail references figure prominently among the rest of the short-listed names: South Junction Triangle, East Junction, Railpath, Railtown, Black Oak Triangle, Rail District, The Wedge, The Triangle and Perth Park.
Read the full article here.
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- Mar 24, 2009
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The Impact of Illegal Drug Operations on Housing
Please download the pdf below for information on the impact of drug operations on housing. Provided by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
Attached File(s)
1_A_White_Paper_Kelvin_Neufeld.pdf ( 310.81K )
Please download the pdf below for information on the impact of drug operations on housing. Provided by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
Attached File(s)
1_A_White_Paper_Kelvin_Neufeld.pdf ( 310.81K )
- Joined
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Troubled Neighbourhood desperate for change
Four towers. Thousands of tenants stacked 23 storeys.
From the trash-strewn parking garage, up the stairwells tagged with gang graffiti, and on to the highest balconies, life in these buildings is missing a pressure valve.
When it boils, police officers, paramedics and coroners come to work.
There`s a blood-soaked, 35-year history here. Guns, murders, toddlers falling from apartments, the sexual assault of a 16-year-old in a janitor`s closet.
News reports and cops and residents call it Chalkfarm, for the street on which the buildings went up in the mid-1970s.
Read the full article here.
Four towers. Thousands of tenants stacked 23 storeys.
From the trash-strewn parking garage, up the stairwells tagged with gang graffiti, and on to the highest balconies, life in these buildings is missing a pressure valve.
When it boils, police officers, paramedics and coroners come to work.
There`s a blood-soaked, 35-year history here. Guns, murders, toddlers falling from apartments, the sexual assault of a 16-year-old in a janitor`s closet.
News reports and cops and residents call it Chalkfarm, for the street on which the buildings went up in the mid-1970s.
Read the full article here.
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Recycled Condos: More than the sum of its parts
It looks new. It smells fresh. It has a new home warranty. Yet, some of the parts of its sum have been around at least once before. Recycled materials are beginning to be used in the construction of new condos, not to save money but to save the planet.
When it comes to constructing Toronto condominiums everything old, from broken glass to discarded animal skin, is new again. Developers are using recycled materials in almost every aspect of the building cycle.
There isn`t a totally recycled condominium in Canada ... yet. But a number of new building projects offers a glimpse of the future fast approaching. One building uses century-old wood for flooring in new condos; another uses concrete blocks made with old broken wine bottles. Another has recycled leather car upholstery on the walls and floor.
"There is a consumer demand for all things green – including the use of recycled materials," explains Mark Cohen, founding partner of The Condo Store Marketing Systems. "And, at the same time, there are new developers coming on the market with a social conscious and a real desire to follow the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle)."
"We all have a responsibility in this day and age to preserve our environment and the communities that we live in," says Cohen. "It is good to see condo developers playing their part because their developments have a huge impact on the urban environment."
Read the full article here.
It looks new. It smells fresh. It has a new home warranty. Yet, some of the parts of its sum have been around at least once before. Recycled materials are beginning to be used in the construction of new condos, not to save money but to save the planet.
When it comes to constructing Toronto condominiums everything old, from broken glass to discarded animal skin, is new again. Developers are using recycled materials in almost every aspect of the building cycle.
There isn`t a totally recycled condominium in Canada ... yet. But a number of new building projects offers a glimpse of the future fast approaching. One building uses century-old wood for flooring in new condos; another uses concrete blocks made with old broken wine bottles. Another has recycled leather car upholstery on the walls and floor.
"There is a consumer demand for all things green – including the use of recycled materials," explains Mark Cohen, founding partner of The Condo Store Marketing Systems. "And, at the same time, there are new developers coming on the market with a social conscious and a real desire to follow the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle)."
"We all have a responsibility in this day and age to preserve our environment and the communities that we live in," says Cohen. "It is good to see condo developers playing their part because their developments have a huge impact on the urban environment."
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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Home sales remain well above year-ago levels in January
Residential sales activity in the area served by the Barrie District Association of REALTORSR Inc. posted another large year-over-year gain in January 2010.
According to statistics provided by the Association, home sales recorded through the MLSR System totalled 204 units in January 2010. This is an increase of 58 per cent from levels reported in the same month last year.
"The strength in the resale market now, compared to last year`s weak showing, is stretching current year-over-year comparisons," said Elizabeth Wilson, President of the Barrie and District Association of REALTORS.
"Sales are expected to remain above 2009 levels for much of the year, but we expect to see more subdued year-over-year gains beginning next month."
The total dollar value of all home sales amounted to $55.1 million in January 2010, rising 65 per cent from year-ago levels.
Total sales activity in the Barrie region numbered 209 units in January, up 62 per cent year-over-year. The total value of all properties sold in January 2010 was $55.9 million, an increase of 67 per cent over January 2009.
The average price for homes sold via the Association`s MLSR System in January was $270,340, four per cent above the average price from January 2009.
The Barrie & District Association of REALTORSR cautions that over a period of time, the use of average price information can be useful in establishing trends, but it does not indicate actual prices in widely divergent areas or account for price differentials, between geographical areas.
New residential listings numbered 600 units in January 2010, down six per cent year-over-year. This is the 10th consecutive month in which new listings have declined from year-ago levels.
The number of active residential listings on the Association`s MLSR System dropped 25 per cent from a year earlier to 1,224 units at the end of January 2010. This is the ninth consecutive month in which active listings have declined from peak levels one year earlier.
There were six months of inventory at the end of January 2010, well below the recessionary peak from one year earlier (12.6 months). The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
The Barrie and District Association of REALTORSR Inc. covers a geographical area that includes the City of Barrie and part or all of the surrounding townships, including Springwater, Oro-Medonte, Innisfil, Essa, Bradford-West Gwillimbury and Clearview. The Association provides continuing education, Multiple Listing ServiceR (MLSR), statistical information, and many other services to its members.
*****END*****
As brought to you by:
Shannon P Murree, Sales Representative
RE/MAX Chay Realty Inc, Brokerage
www.movingsimcoe.com
Residential sales activity in the area served by the Barrie District Association of REALTORSR Inc. posted another large year-over-year gain in January 2010.
According to statistics provided by the Association, home sales recorded through the MLSR System totalled 204 units in January 2010. This is an increase of 58 per cent from levels reported in the same month last year.
"The strength in the resale market now, compared to last year`s weak showing, is stretching current year-over-year comparisons," said Elizabeth Wilson, President of the Barrie and District Association of REALTORS.
"Sales are expected to remain above 2009 levels for much of the year, but we expect to see more subdued year-over-year gains beginning next month."
The total dollar value of all home sales amounted to $55.1 million in January 2010, rising 65 per cent from year-ago levels.
Total sales activity in the Barrie region numbered 209 units in January, up 62 per cent year-over-year. The total value of all properties sold in January 2010 was $55.9 million, an increase of 67 per cent over January 2009.
The average price for homes sold via the Association`s MLSR System in January was $270,340, four per cent above the average price from January 2009.
The Barrie & District Association of REALTORSR cautions that over a period of time, the use of average price information can be useful in establishing trends, but it does not indicate actual prices in widely divergent areas or account for price differentials, between geographical areas.
New residential listings numbered 600 units in January 2010, down six per cent year-over-year. This is the 10th consecutive month in which new listings have declined from year-ago levels.
The number of active residential listings on the Association`s MLSR System dropped 25 per cent from a year earlier to 1,224 units at the end of January 2010. This is the ninth consecutive month in which active listings have declined from peak levels one year earlier.
There were six months of inventory at the end of January 2010, well below the recessionary peak from one year earlier (12.6 months). The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
The Barrie and District Association of REALTORSR Inc. covers a geographical area that includes the City of Barrie and part or all of the surrounding townships, including Springwater, Oro-Medonte, Innisfil, Essa, Bradford-West Gwillimbury and Clearview. The Association provides continuing education, Multiple Listing ServiceR (MLSR), statistical information, and many other services to its members.
*****END*****
As brought to you by:
Shannon P Murree, Sales Representative
RE/MAX Chay Realty Inc, Brokerage
www.movingsimcoe.com
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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Competition Bureau keeps an eye on TREB
The Toronto Real Estate Board, Canada`s largest, is likely the federal Competition Bureau`s next target as it tackles what it says is anti-competitive behaviour in real estate markets.
TREB has restricted some companies from acquiring and disseminating to consumers information from the Multiple Listing Service, something the federal regulator doesn`t like, sources told the Star.
"The Bureau is of the view that you can`t restrict how agents provide data to consumers, that you can`t restrict innovation in the business," said Lawrence Dale, a lawyer who represented web realtor Fraser Beach in a suit last year against the board.
"We`re living in an Internet age, and they`re telling agents that they cannot provide a faster, more efficient way to deliver information and reduce cost and commissions to consumers."
Sources say if the Competition Bureau finds TREB`s rules to be anti-competitive, it might give the board the option of changing its rules or face the prospect of a Competition Tribunal.
Read the full article here.
The Toronto Real Estate Board, Canada`s largest, is likely the federal Competition Bureau`s next target as it tackles what it says is anti-competitive behaviour in real estate markets.
TREB has restricted some companies from acquiring and disseminating to consumers information from the Multiple Listing Service, something the federal regulator doesn`t like, sources told the Star.
"The Bureau is of the view that you can`t restrict how agents provide data to consumers, that you can`t restrict innovation in the business," said Lawrence Dale, a lawyer who represented web realtor Fraser Beach in a suit last year against the board.
"We`re living in an Internet age, and they`re telling agents that they cannot provide a faster, more efficient way to deliver information and reduce cost and commissions to consumers."
Sources say if the Competition Bureau finds TREB`s rules to be anti-competitive, it might give the board the option of changing its rules or face the prospect of a Competition Tribunal.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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Seasoned Real Estate brokers in new Web turf war
For Paul Swartz, it`s a question that seems to be on the mind of nearly every client.
Why should I pay your commission? I think you guys are overpaid.
The realtor has a ready answer.
"When you go to a brain surgeon, and you spend 2 1/2 hours on the operating table, are you paying him for the 2 1/2 hours, or the 15 years of experience and education?" asks Swartz. "You`re paying for the expertise."
Swartz, an agent of 30 years and broker at Sutton Group Old Mill Realty, has lived through boom and bust. But changes in technology mean his profession is at a key turning point, at the mercy of a skeptical public and scrutinized by regulators.
"They think all we do is put up a sign and wait for the money to roll in. They don`t understand the amount of work we have to put in to get the job done right," said Swartz. "People think every agent is a millionaire."
After decades in the business, Swartz drives a Chevrolet Cobalt and lives modestly. Walking down a street of bungalows and remodelled homes in Toronto`s west end, where he grew up, he points out six homes on the street he has sold over the years.
Read the full article here.
For Paul Swartz, it`s a question that seems to be on the mind of nearly every client.
Why should I pay your commission? I think you guys are overpaid.
The realtor has a ready answer.
"When you go to a brain surgeon, and you spend 2 1/2 hours on the operating table, are you paying him for the 2 1/2 hours, or the 15 years of experience and education?" asks Swartz. "You`re paying for the expertise."
Swartz, an agent of 30 years and broker at Sutton Group Old Mill Realty, has lived through boom and bust. But changes in technology mean his profession is at a key turning point, at the mercy of a skeptical public and scrutinized by regulators.
"They think all we do is put up a sign and wait for the money to roll in. They don`t understand the amount of work we have to put in to get the job done right," said Swartz. "People think every agent is a millionaire."
After decades in the business, Swartz drives a Chevrolet Cobalt and lives modestly. Walking down a street of bungalows and remodelled homes in Toronto`s west end, where he grew up, he points out six homes on the street he has sold over the years.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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How to make the HST easier to swallow
The senior Liberal official doesn`t mince words when asked how the government should sell Ontarians on the controversial new harmonized sales tax.
"We need to use the Buckley`s cough syrup slogan," the Grit says firmly. "`It tastes awful. And it works.`"
Indeed, Premier Dalton McGuinty`s government believes melding the 8 per cent provincial sales tax with the 5 per cent federal GST on July 1 could be tough medicine for Ontario residents to swallow – but it will be effective for the economy.
Unfortunately for the Liberals, Queen`s Park is not legally allowed to advertise that fact in newspapers or on radio and TV.
Thanks to McGuinty`s 2004 Government Advertising Act, the province`s ads must be vetted by the auditor general to ensure they are not politically partisan. Only online ads are exempt.
So the Liberals are tying themselves in knots trying to figure out how to market the tax.
Read the full article here.
The senior Liberal official doesn`t mince words when asked how the government should sell Ontarians on the controversial new harmonized sales tax.
"We need to use the Buckley`s cough syrup slogan," the Grit says firmly. "`It tastes awful. And it works.`"
Indeed, Premier Dalton McGuinty`s government believes melding the 8 per cent provincial sales tax with the 5 per cent federal GST on July 1 could be tough medicine for Ontario residents to swallow – but it will be effective for the economy.
Unfortunately for the Liberals, Queen`s Park is not legally allowed to advertise that fact in newspapers or on radio and TV.
Thanks to McGuinty`s 2004 Government Advertising Act, the province`s ads must be vetted by the auditor general to ensure they are not politically partisan. Only online ads are exempt.
So the Liberals are tying themselves in knots trying to figure out how to market the tax.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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- 16,743
Coal to wood: a powerful plan for Ontario
The Ontario government originally promised (2003) to close down its coal-fired electricity plants by 2007. But that was then. By 2006, it had pushed the deadline back to 2014, where it stands to this day - a bold affirmation of good intentions. The government now holds that the promise, by itself, is progress. "There is only one place in the world that is phasing out coal-fired generation," Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty asserted in the 2007 provincial election. "We`re doing it right here in Ontario." Note Mr. McGuinty`s present-tense pride in future-tense achievement.
Even as Mr. McGuinty spoke these words, though, New Hampshire`s biggest utility company was doing what Ontario aspired to do. On Dec. 1, 2006, Public Service Co. of New Hampshire (PSNH) replaced a coal-fired plant with a wood-fired plant in the Atlantic seacoast city of Portsmouth. The first such conversion in North America, this plant generates 50 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 50,000 homes. Last week, PSNH took a few minutes at its Portsmouth headquarters to celebrate a milestone in wood-heat generation - the plant`s one-billionth kilowatt-hour of energy.
Designated formally as Northern Wood Power at Schiller Station, the wood-fired plant gets its fuel from its own heavily forested neighbourhood. Most of the loggers who supply the plant with low-grade wood are family operations - and most of the 400,000 tons of wood chips they produce each year come from stumps, brush, small branches and tops of trees that would otherwise be discarded.
The company has documented an impressive environmental record. The wood chips replace 130,000 tons of coal a year - or 400,000 tons since the plant went into operation. It has eliminated 6,500 tons of sulphur dioxide emissions and one million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. PSNH says the use of wood releases 70 per cent less nitrogen oxide than coal, 90 per cent less mercury, 95 per cent less sulphur dioxide and, further, produces only insignificant amounts of particulate matter.
The plant doesn`t burn wood chips in the familiar wood-on-grate manner of cook stoves and fireplaces. The boiler converts water to superheated, high-pressure steam, which spins the turbines, in the usual way. But the wood circulates aloft, suspended in air in the combustion chamber, producing a more complete burn. The entire process is carbon-neutral.
Read the full article here.
The Ontario government originally promised (2003) to close down its coal-fired electricity plants by 2007. But that was then. By 2006, it had pushed the deadline back to 2014, where it stands to this day - a bold affirmation of good intentions. The government now holds that the promise, by itself, is progress. "There is only one place in the world that is phasing out coal-fired generation," Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty asserted in the 2007 provincial election. "We`re doing it right here in Ontario." Note Mr. McGuinty`s present-tense pride in future-tense achievement.
Even as Mr. McGuinty spoke these words, though, New Hampshire`s biggest utility company was doing what Ontario aspired to do. On Dec. 1, 2006, Public Service Co. of New Hampshire (PSNH) replaced a coal-fired plant with a wood-fired plant in the Atlantic seacoast city of Portsmouth. The first such conversion in North America, this plant generates 50 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 50,000 homes. Last week, PSNH took a few minutes at its Portsmouth headquarters to celebrate a milestone in wood-heat generation - the plant`s one-billionth kilowatt-hour of energy.
Designated formally as Northern Wood Power at Schiller Station, the wood-fired plant gets its fuel from its own heavily forested neighbourhood. Most of the loggers who supply the plant with low-grade wood are family operations - and most of the 400,000 tons of wood chips they produce each year come from stumps, brush, small branches and tops of trees that would otherwise be discarded.
The company has documented an impressive environmental record. The wood chips replace 130,000 tons of coal a year - or 400,000 tons since the plant went into operation. It has eliminated 6,500 tons of sulphur dioxide emissions and one million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. PSNH says the use of wood releases 70 per cent less nitrogen oxide than coal, 90 per cent less mercury, 95 per cent less sulphur dioxide and, further, produces only insignificant amounts of particulate matter.
The plant doesn`t burn wood chips in the familiar wood-on-grate manner of cook stoves and fireplaces. The boiler converts water to superheated, high-pressure steam, which spins the turbines, in the usual way. But the wood circulates aloft, suspended in air in the combustion chamber, producing a more complete burn. The entire process is carbon-neutral.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
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Ontario warned not to follow Alberta example
Ontario must resist the temptation to use Alberta`s record-breaking deficit as political cover to go deeper into the red as it confronts much bigger challenges than the resource-rich provinces, economists say.
All but one of Canada`s provinces are heading into budget season deep in deficit - Saskatchewan is the exception. While Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are the hardest hit, Canada`s largest province is in a league of its own. Not only is Ontario`s deficit forecast to hit $24.7-billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, eclipsing other regions, it also accounts for the largest share of economic output at just over 4 per cent of GDP.
Finance ministers in the three provinces have promised restraint. But Alberta`s Ted Morton revealed this week just how difficult it is to practise what governments preach. Alberta unveiled a budget that will ramp up spending on health care and education, pushing its deficit to a historic high of $4.7-billion.
Alberta`s spending should not set a precedent for other provinces, said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at Bank of Montreal. The economy in Alberta, like other resource-rich provinces, will rebound when commodity prices rise again. But Mr. Porter said Ontario will take much longer to recover from the worst economic downturn in a generation because its manufacturing heartland is undergoing significant change.
"I doubt Alberta is going to serve as a very good guide for the rest of the country," Mr. Porter said.
Read the full article here.
Ontario must resist the temptation to use Alberta`s record-breaking deficit as political cover to go deeper into the red as it confronts much bigger challenges than the resource-rich provinces, economists say.
All but one of Canada`s provinces are heading into budget season deep in deficit - Saskatchewan is the exception. While Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are the hardest hit, Canada`s largest province is in a league of its own. Not only is Ontario`s deficit forecast to hit $24.7-billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, eclipsing other regions, it also accounts for the largest share of economic output at just over 4 per cent of GDP.
Finance ministers in the three provinces have promised restraint. But Alberta`s Ted Morton revealed this week just how difficult it is to practise what governments preach. Alberta unveiled a budget that will ramp up spending on health care and education, pushing its deficit to a historic high of $4.7-billion.
Alberta`s spending should not set a precedent for other provinces, said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at Bank of Montreal. The economy in Alberta, like other resource-rich provinces, will rebound when commodity prices rise again. But Mr. Porter said Ontario will take much longer to recover from the worst economic downturn in a generation because its manufacturing heartland is undergoing significant change.
"I doubt Alberta is going to serve as a very good guide for the rest of the country," Mr. Porter said.
Read the full article here.
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Rush to finish renos before July 1
If you`re planning to hire a renovator this year, time is of the essence if you hope to avoid paying the harmonized sales tax on home improvement jobs.
The 13 per cent HST, which takes effect July 1, will add 8 per cent in tax to the 5 per cent GST currently charged by licensed reno contractors.
"Start now to get a decent contractor and check out timelines to see if the project can be finished before July 1," said Mike Martin, chair of the Ontario Renovators` Council for the Ontario Home Builders` Association. "There`s going to be a mad rush."
Reno projects must be completed by June 30 to be exempt from HST; ones in progress will be pro-rated based on their stage of completion on July 1.
"There`s no way around it if you want to be a legitimate contractor. You are going to be charging 13 per cent," said Frank Giannone, past president of the OHBA.
Read the full article here.
If you`re planning to hire a renovator this year, time is of the essence if you hope to avoid paying the harmonized sales tax on home improvement jobs.
The 13 per cent HST, which takes effect July 1, will add 8 per cent in tax to the 5 per cent GST currently charged by licensed reno contractors.
"Start now to get a decent contractor and check out timelines to see if the project can be finished before July 1," said Mike Martin, chair of the Ontario Renovators` Council for the Ontario Home Builders` Association. "There`s going to be a mad rush."
Reno projects must be completed by June 30 to be exempt from HST; ones in progress will be pro-rated based on their stage of completion on July 1.
"There`s no way around it if you want to be a legitimate contractor. You are going to be charging 13 per cent," said Frank Giannone, past president of the OHBA.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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Toronto property taxes rise 4%
Homeowners will be hit with a four per cent tax increase under Toronto`s proposed 2010 operating budget unveiled this morning, while businesses will see their taxes rise 1.3%.
Both proposed increases are the same as those passed in 2009.
Mayor David Miller said there will be no sale of city assets to balance the books, but the proposed budget includes $13 million in user fee hikes and new fees, and $172 million in internal savings.
Users of city recreation programs will bear the brunt of user fee hikes. The "most controversial" new fee, said budget committee head Coun. Shelley Carroll, is a one-time $50-per-family fee to sign up for recreation programs. The registration fee won`t be levied on families already signed up, she said.
Carroll admitted this budget won`t fix the city`s long- term structural problems but said it keeps the city on an even keel while it presses the Ontario government for a return to long-term sustainable transit funding by Dec. 1.
Read the full article here.
Homeowners will be hit with a four per cent tax increase under Toronto`s proposed 2010 operating budget unveiled this morning, while businesses will see their taxes rise 1.3%.
Both proposed increases are the same as those passed in 2009.
Mayor David Miller said there will be no sale of city assets to balance the books, but the proposed budget includes $13 million in user fee hikes and new fees, and $172 million in internal savings.
Users of city recreation programs will bear the brunt of user fee hikes. The "most controversial" new fee, said budget committee head Coun. Shelley Carroll, is a one-time $50-per-family fee to sign up for recreation programs. The registration fee won`t be levied on families already signed up, she said.
Carroll admitted this budget won`t fix the city`s long- term structural problems but said it keeps the city on an even keel while it presses the Ontario government for a return to long-term sustainable transit funding by Dec. 1.
Read the full article here.
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- Mar 24, 2009
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Chill starts to set in for Real Estate
Ottawa`s tighter mortgage rules, combined with a new harmonized sales tax in Ontario and an impending interest-rate increase, should slow the Canadian housing market in the second half of the year, erasing fears of a bubble, analysts say.
"Combined, they should all take some serious steam out of housing," said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. "By then, the bubble chatter should fade."
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Wednesday that resale home sales across Canada dipped by 2.8 per cent in January from the near-record levels reported in December, suggesting the market may already be cooling.
There were 46,394 existing homes sales last month, compared with 48,144 in the prior month. All figures are seasonally adjusted.
"January results suggest the national resale market may be past the recent peak," CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said. "One car doesn`t make a parade, so a few more months of results showing a cooling trend will be required before talk of a Canadian housing bubble begins to fade."
Before that happens, analysts expect housing activity will remain heated in the coming months, as buyers rush to purchase before the new mortgage requirements come into effect April 19.
Read the full article here.
Ottawa`s tighter mortgage rules, combined with a new harmonized sales tax in Ontario and an impending interest-rate increase, should slow the Canadian housing market in the second half of the year, erasing fears of a bubble, analysts say.
"Combined, they should all take some serious steam out of housing," said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. "By then, the bubble chatter should fade."
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Wednesday that resale home sales across Canada dipped by 2.8 per cent in January from the near-record levels reported in December, suggesting the market may already be cooling.
There were 46,394 existing homes sales last month, compared with 48,144 in the prior month. All figures are seasonally adjusted.
"January results suggest the national resale market may be past the recent peak," CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said. "One car doesn`t make a parade, so a few more months of results showing a cooling trend will be required before talk of a Canadian housing bubble begins to fade."
Before that happens, analysts expect housing activity will remain heated in the coming months, as buyers rush to purchase before the new mortgage requirements come into effect April 19.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
- Messages
- 16,743
Facade program giving downtown a facelift
KITCHENER — Behind the sleek new sign and the strikingly modern stucco lays the bones of a building that has watched over Kitchener’s downtown for nearly a century.
With its modern facelift, Mario Halapir’s soccer retail store and uniform business, Sports Link, shows little sign of its age. But what it does show, Halapir hopes, is his commitment to the business and the city’s core.
“With the economy the way it is right now, everyone’s thinking about saving dollars,” he said. “We thought about it the other way around. We said, ‘We’re going to invest some money into our business so we can be here forever.’ ”
The Sports Link façade improvement is the largest completed project in the city’s granting program, which matches exterior improvement dollars for commercial businesses in the downtown.
The city will pay up to $10,000 per storefront for approved projects. In total, Kitchener has $600,000 to hand out over the five years of the program.
In 2009, the city approved grants totalling $175,000. The private investment portion of those projects will equal about $375,000 since some businesses exceed the maximum amount that could be matched, said Cory Bluhm, the city’s urban investment adviser.
Read the full article here.
KITCHENER — Behind the sleek new sign and the strikingly modern stucco lays the bones of a building that has watched over Kitchener’s downtown for nearly a century.
With its modern facelift, Mario Halapir’s soccer retail store and uniform business, Sports Link, shows little sign of its age. But what it does show, Halapir hopes, is his commitment to the business and the city’s core.
“With the economy the way it is right now, everyone’s thinking about saving dollars,” he said. “We thought about it the other way around. We said, ‘We’re going to invest some money into our business so we can be here forever.’ ”
The Sports Link façade improvement is the largest completed project in the city’s granting program, which matches exterior improvement dollars for commercial businesses in the downtown.
The city will pay up to $10,000 per storefront for approved projects. In total, Kitchener has $600,000 to hand out over the five years of the program.
In 2009, the city approved grants totalling $175,000. The private investment portion of those projects will equal about $375,000 since some businesses exceed the maximum amount that could be matched, said Cory Bluhm, the city’s urban investment adviser.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
- Messages
- 16,743
The home price puzzle
If there is a real estate
bubble in Canada, you sure can`t see it from Drouillard Road.
Three-bedroom houses in this hardscrabble neighbourhood can be had for less than $30,000. Yet there are no offers. Several houses on the busy semi-residential street sit empty, with foreclosure notices posted in their front windows. Nearby, corner stores that used to be open 24 hours a day have shut down.
It`s a far cry from the Toronto and Vancouver markets, where prices are leapfrogging and dinner-party chatter has once again turned to the latest neighbourhood bidding wars.
There`s no contest as to which end of the real estate spectrum is getting attention. Fears of a housing bubble
among economists and policy makers seem much more attuned to a handful of high-end metropolitan markets than the norm.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty`s tightening this week of mortgage rules was aimed at preventing Canadians from taking on more housing debt than they`ll be able to handle as interest rates
rise, and Mr. Flaherty was careful to say that there is no clear evidence of a housing bubble.
But his policy, which will curb real estate speculation, has ignited a whole new set of concerns: What if prices crash?
Read the full article here.
If there is a real estate
bubble in Canada, you sure can`t see it from Drouillard Road. Three-bedroom houses in this hardscrabble neighbourhood can be had for less than $30,000. Yet there are no offers. Several houses on the busy semi-residential street sit empty, with foreclosure notices posted in their front windows. Nearby, corner stores that used to be open 24 hours a day have shut down.
It`s a far cry from the Toronto and Vancouver markets, where prices are leapfrogging and dinner-party chatter has once again turned to the latest neighbourhood bidding wars.
There`s no contest as to which end of the real estate spectrum is getting attention. Fears of a housing bubble
among economists and policy makers seem much more attuned to a handful of high-end metropolitan markets than the norm. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty`s tightening this week of mortgage rules was aimed at preventing Canadians from taking on more housing debt than they`ll be able to handle as interest rates
rise, and Mr. Flaherty was careful to say that there is no clear evidence of a housing bubble. But his policy, which will curb real estate speculation, has ignited a whole new set of concerns: What if prices crash?
Read the full article here.