February 2013 Ontario Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

The buyer/seller standoff in Toronto real estate is over




The forces guiding real estate are always local, but in the choppy Toronto market of 2013, the talk has turned to `hyper-local` strategies.




The various layers and pockets of the market are behaving so differently that buyers and sellers need to shift quickly ` even as the Big Bank economists see the overall market wafting to a soft landing. Nationally, real estate prices have declined for five consecutive months, the Teranet-National Bank house price index shows.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Kanata outlet mall, hotel take shape






American outlet company Tanger Outlet Centres has teamed with local firms Taggart Realty and Trinity Developments, as well as Canadian real estate firm RioCan, on the project at 333 Huntmar Dr. The retail area would be located to the north of the site, with a hotel and restaurants to the south.




The groups have promised `pedestrian oriented private streets lined with retail outlets, creating the ambience of an outdoor pedestrian mall,` according to city planning documents posted online this week.





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[Ally]

Canada and Ontario invest in Highway 401 bridges





Bridges along one of Ontario's busiest highways will soon be improved, thanks to $7.5 million in joint funding announced today by the governments of Canada and Ontario.




A new bridge underpass will be built at East Townline Road in Port Hope, and sandblasting and structural work will be performed on the Trent River Bridge in Trenton. Rehabilitation and replacement work on the two bridges will improve their structural integrity and lifespan. Both bridges are important links to tourist destinations and local businesses in the Port Hope and Trenton regions.





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[Ally]

Orillia a top-10 investment city




The City of Orillia can hold its own.




For the first time, the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) ` a Western Canada- based research organization ` has given Orillia a standalone score in its rankings of top investment cities in Ontario.




The Sunshine City has scored seventh in the annual REIN Top Ontario Investment Towns 2013 to 2018 report.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Week to week a growing way of life for Ontario workers





TORONTO - A new report says a growing number of adult workers in the Toronto and Hamilton areas are going without stable paycheques and benefits such as extended health and pension plans.







The McMaster University-United Way Toronto study finds that four in 10 workers are trapped in or partly feeling the effects of so-called precarious employment, while the rest hold on to better permanent jobs.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Toronto new home sales drop nearly 35% from a year ago in January




New home sales in the country`s largest housing market continued to decline in January, off almost 35% from a year ago.




RealNet Canada Inc. said there were 1,248 homes sold across the Greater Toronto Area in January, compared to 1,918 a year ago. Sales were down about 44% from two years ago. They were 686 high rise sales in January across the GTA, down from 744 a year ago.





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[Ally]

Notorious tenant ordered to pay up for locking out landlord





Nina Willis, a Toronto tenant with a string of eviction notices, was found guilty of changing the locks on a house she rented and blocking her landlord from entering the home.






The hearing was held in a Toronto court on Friday. Willis failed to appear.






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[Ally]

Toronto transit: Build it and they will come




Remember the leap of faith Apple took in launching the iPad tablet before anyone needed or wanted one? A risk for sure, but a huge corporate success.




Here's a much shorter leap -- and an opportunity for smart growth and long-term success in the municipal world: Stop talking, and start building Metro Toronto's transit lines now.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadian real estate investors fret as housing blitz winds down




Herbert Crockett called Cairo, Geneva and New Delhi home in his four decades as a human resources executive with the World Health Organization. The Prince Edward Island native invested closer to his roots in 2005.





CHMC has been asking realtors to keep consumers in the dark about whether the properties it sells are part of a foreclosure, The Financial Post has learned.





With Toronto on the verge of what turned into a colossal building spree, the 75-year-old retiree bought a $904,000 one-bedroom suite in the Trump International Hotel & Tower. Eight years later, the 65-story skyscraper is complete, exuding Manhattan-style glamour.





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[Ally]

Toronto's mid rise condo boom will help save main streets like Avenue Road





Happy is easy. It`s much more interesting to study why people are unhappy.






The Toronto homeowners who are unhappy about a mid-rise condo being built on a bleak stretch of Avenue Road just north of Dupont are a case in point. They fascinate me






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[Ally]

Homeowners poised to cash in on decade-long housing boom





More homeowners are poised to cash out and move up this year backed by gains averaging some 93 per cent during a 10-year housing boom that, in losing some of its steam, has opened new doors for would-be buyers, according to a new report from realty company ReMax.






Move-up buyers took advantage of the softening market last year as a chance to buy a bigger home in 14 of 16 major markets surveyed by ReMax, the exceptions being Victoria and Vancouver, where sales slumped significantly.






Read the full article here.