Many of you have inquired whether the real estate market in the GTA is still moving along at a steady pace. We would like to share some simple stats with you a s reported through the Toronto Real Estate Board, and invite you to draw your own conclusions.
 
During the month of October there were 7,642 MLS home sales in the GTA. If we compare the volume of sales to that of October of 2010 we see an increase in the number of sales by 17.5% from a total sales figure of 6,504. These numbers would indicate that we should have a strong finish to our real estate market for the balance of 2011.
 
Further to the increase in sales volume, it is also interesting to note that over the same time period the average selling price through the Toronto MLS system was up 8% to $478,137. In many parts of the GTA a sellers market still remains in place. Thanks to the historically low interest rates, strong price growth has not impacted on the demand or affordability for good old fashioned bricks and mortar.
 
If you would like to assess the real estate options for growth that are available to you feel free to contact us directly at kassen@royallepage.ca . We also specialize in friendly informative phone calls at 416-690-5100.
 
Team Kassen

 If you have been following our real estate blog you know that we try to keep our friends and clients up to date with the current trends and events that are impacting on our real estate market. We also like to share some of our thoughts that have a connection with real estate, but also have a far more reaching social impact.

 As the complexities of life become more challenging and diverse, unfortunately one of the byproducts of our way of life is family violence. In steps the real estate connection known as the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. On average this foundation shelters approximately 30,000 woman and children a year across Canada that are fleeing family violence in search of shelter and a new start.

 Many of us are at a stage in our lives and have the wherewithal to give back and donate to worthy causes and charities. The problem that often complicates the decision of whom to give to arises from a concern of actually knowing that the money will get to where we intended it to go. In many cases the intended donation is buried in administrative red tape where eventually only pennies on the dollar are received by the intended recipient.

 All of the administrative costs of the Shelter Foundation are underwritten by Royal LePage so 100% of every dollar donated goes directly to helping our cause. If this is the type of charitable experience that would appeal to you, we invite you to read further about actual “stories of hope” written by women that have directly benefited from this amazing charity of Canadians helping Canadians. http://shelterfoundation.ca For approximately the last ten years Team Kassen has donated a percentage of our commission earned on every real estate transaction to this worthy cause.

I think that we are at the point now where most home sellers would agree that staging your home for the purpose of putting it on the market is pretty much essential. Many of our clients are divided on the degree of how far to take the staging process. The bottom line is that it is completely up to the client, but their realtor should be well informed and ready to give constructive advice in tandem with a professional stager if required. The one thing that we do know conclusively is that a properly staged home, more than pays for the costs of going through the process, and ultimately puts many more dollars, sometimes thousands more, in the pockets of the seller.

 The mental block for the seller is usually, "Why am I spending all this money to get rid of my home". Stay focused people, because you are going to reap the reward of extra funds at the end of the day. We frequently lose focus of the fact that not only do sellers benefit financially, but staging also helps your home stand above the competition and facilitate the sale. To stage or not to stage? Stage...Always!

With the first change of cool temperatures upon us, (ouch), many of our thoughts turn to making our homes more energy efficient for the colder months. There are still many grants; I believe that means free money, available from the Ontario government. This helps take a little of the sting out of the up-front costs for ultimately saving money and energy down the road. Some of these grants are specifically related to home heating systems, many types insulation and energy efficient windows, doors and skylights. In order to apply for these rebates one must first have a professional energy audit done of their home. A portion of the cost is returned to the home owner if they proceed with some of the work recommended in the audit. If you’re like me, and the thought of actually catching a financial break from the government is rare music for your pocketbook to dance to, check out the rebates that are available for you at http://www.homeperformance.com/ontario-rebates-toronto-hamilton-london-barrie-orillia

Canadian Housing Market, 2011

The Canadian housing market has come out of the crisis in better shape than ever. House prices are up, and rents are up. Compared to the U.S, Canada’s housing market has suffered very little over the past two years. Aside from Asia, Israel and France, Canada’s market is contradictory compared to the rest of the world, up 4.1% in the past year; putting itself in the 17^th place of the results of 50 countries.

Take a look at some of those countries that haven’t fared as well, and the top 10. You may be surprised…

 The Top Ten Worst Global Housing Markets Of The Past Year

#10 Greece

-4.6% annual change

-1.1% six month change

-1.5% quarter change

#9 Dubai

-4.7% annual change

0.1% six month change

-0.5% quarter change

#8 Spain

-5.1% annual change

-3.9% six month change

-1.4% quarter change

#7 Czech Republic

-5.1% annual change

-3.7% six month change

-2.0% quarter change

#6 United States

-5.9% annual change

-1.2% six month change

0.1% quarter change

#5 Bulgaria

-6.4% annual change

-3.9% six month change

-1.6% quarter change

#4 Cyprus

-6.4% annual change

-3.9% six month change

-1.6% quarter change

#3 Ukraine

-7.8% annual change

-1.6% six month change

0.0% quarter change

#2 Russia

-12.1% annual change

-12.3% six month change

1.6% quarter change

#1 Ireland

-12.9% annual change

-8.5% six month change

-4.2% quarter change

The 10 Hottest Housing Markets in the World:

#10 Denmark

Annual Change: Up 7.8%

Q3 2010 Change: Up 1.5%

#9 Poland

Annual Change: Up 8.1%

Q3 2010 Change: Up 1.1%

#8 India

Annual Change: Up 8.9%

Q3 2010 Change: Down 1.7%

#7 France

Annual Change: Up 9.5%

Q4 2010 Change: Up 1.4%

#6 Austria

Annual Change: Up 9.9%

Q3 2010 Change: Up 3.7%

#5 Singapore

Annual Change: Up 14.0%

Q4 2010 Change: Up 1.8%

#4 China (only Beijing and Shanghai)

Annual Change: Up 15.3%

Q4 2010 Change: Up 6.4%

#3 Israel

Annual Change: Up 16.2%

Q4 2010 Change: Up 3.5%

#2 Latvia

Annual Change: Up 16.9%

Q4 2010 Change: Down 0.8%

#1 Hong Kong

Annual Change: Up 20.1%

Q4 2010 Change: Up 3.7%

Source: Knight Frank

Articles quoted: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worst-global-housing-markets-of-the-past-year-2011-9

http://www.businessinsider.com/hottest-housing-markets-2011-4

The Municipal Land Transfer Tax was brought forth in 2008 as an attempt to fix Toronto’s budget by former Mayor David Miller. Our current mayor, Rob Ford, made the campaign promise to eliminate this tax, but after being elected, he has yet to make good on that pledge. 

"Home sales in the GTA have stood up well despite a less certain economic outlook," said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. "Home sales will be bolstered by low mortgage rates moving forward. The Bank of Canada is expected to be on the sidelines until the second half of 2012 or even into 2013. However, home ownership affordability in the City of Toronto could be further improved with the removal of the City's land transfer tax. This tax currently represents a substantial upfront cost for home buyers."

So what can you, as homeowners and potential homebuyers do to let your opinions be heard and known? Speak up! Contact your local city councilor, send an email, make a phone call, let it be known that we as Torontonians are demanding a plan of action that doesn’t involve over taxing our real estate.

 For new parents with a growing family, having to sell their house or condo and move into a home with more room, a property worth $450,000 has an additional $4725 of municipal land tax on top of the provincial land tax, which would be $5475. This $10,200 can make a huge difference in this young family’s life.

For more information, please go to www.NoHomeBuyingTax.com and let’s take action together!

Over the years hundreds of people have asked us, "When is the best time to sell our home"? Many clients have suggested with an air of certainty that the Spring or the Fall markets are ideal times to sell. The city of Toronto is made up of a number of prime neighbourhoods such as The Beach, Riverdale, Leaside, Rosedale and many more. Each one of these neighbourhoods is very similar to a micro market unto itself. Therefore, the best time to sell is when you as a seller have the least amount of competition in your price range to compete against.

 It is interesting to note that we as realtors seldom work within a market where there is a healthy balance between the supply of homes and the demand for this product. On average it seems that we either have to many buyers for such small inventory, (you may have heard of completion offers), or exactly the opposite. When we review the stats on the sales for a previous year within these micro markets, we always find it interesting that two homes that are as close to being identical, sell for different prices in the tens of thousands of dollars. Does this really make sense? When you look a bit deeper at these cases, you invariably see that the neighbour that sold for the higher price had no competition in the chain of supply and demand at that time.