Frank Steinhausen, Broker
FSteinhausen@REMAX.net
RE/MAX Rouge River Realty Ltd., Brokerage
Phone 905-428-6533
Fax 905-668-1850
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Archive for February, 2009
GTA Housing Resales at 2,044 in Mid February
February 21st, 2009 Categories: Ajax, Pickering, Pickering Village, Real Estate News
TORONTO, February 19, 2009 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 2,044 sales through the first 14 days of February, compared to 2,775 sales reported during the same period in 2008.
“While sales have been lower, the housing sector remains one of the pillars of the GTA economy,” said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “Each existing home transaction generates, on average, more than $33,000 in spin-off spending on renovations and other housing-related items. This spin-off spending translates into jobs.”
“The City of Toronto needs to do its part to encourage homeownership by reducing the tax burden on existing and potential home owners,” said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “To this end, Greater Toronto REALTORS® are calling on the City to roll back the municipal land transfer tax. We presented our views to the City’s Budget Committee yesterday.”
The average home price in the GTA was $364,748 compared to $385,735 in mid-month February last year.
“It is interesting to note that while the average price was down, the annual rate of price decline slowed compared to the previous four months,” according to Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “If this trend continues into the spring, it could point towards average home prices leveling off between $360,000 and $370,000.”
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Rental Transactions Increase in Toronto
February 12th, 2009 Categories: Buying real estate, Real Estate News, Real estate investment
TORONTO, February 5, 2009 – Between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Members reported 3,433 rented condominium apartments and townhouses in the Greater Toronto Area.
This represented a 30 per cent increase over the 2,635 transactions recorded during the same time frame in 2007. A good part of this increase likely came from rental listings in newly completed condominium apartment buildings containing investor-owned units.
“The increasing strength of the rental market combined with low interest rates and reasonable home prices mean that now could be an excellent time to purchase an investment property,” said Maureen O’Neill, President, Toronto Real Estate Board.
“Given the demand for rental units, tenants can cover some of the owner’s operating costs for an investment property, while property owners look forward to a healthy return in owner’s equity in the long term.”
Condominium apartment rents on an annual basis rose for one, two, and three bedroom types during the September to December period. Two bedroom units, for example, rose two per cent to $1,895 per month.
“Investor-owned condominium apartments have become an increasingly important component of the GTA rental market,” according to Jason Mercer, Senior Manager Market Analysis.
“Very few purpose-built rental apartments have been completed in the GTA over the past fewyears. Many renters searching for apartments with modern finishings and amenities have been attracted to rental condominium apartments listed by TREB Members on the TorontoMLS system.”
Visit www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com for a complete copy of the Rental Market Report.
Considering an income property, let me show you how it can work.
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2,670 Resale Housing Transactions in January
February 9th, 2009 Categories: Ajax, Pickering, Pickering Village, Real Estate News
TORONTO - Thursday, February 5, 2009 — TREB Members reported 2,670 sales in January from the 5,075 sales reported in the first month of 2008. Of these, 1,106 transactions took place in the City of Toronto compared to 2,128 in January 2008. In the surrounding “905” area, 1,564 sales were recorded, from 2,947 last year.
The GTA housing market has not been immune to the economic slowdown in Canada. Some potential home buyers were less-certain about their positioning in the economy over the past year. Until the economy rebounds, and along with it consumer confidence, the number of existing home sales will be more moderate in comparison to the average over the last ten years.
Home prices also moderated in January. The average MLS selling price dipped to $343,632. The average price was $364,415 in the City of Toronto, from $404,202 in 2008. In the surrounding regions (“905” area code), the average price was $328,935 from $352,965 last year. Buyers have experienced more choice in the existing home marketplace. Lower selling prices have resulted.
It should be noted that the GTA housing market has followed the broader economic slowdown, but was not a cause of the downturn. Home prices remained affordable throughout the new millennium. The average family can still qualify for a mortgage on the average priced home. This remains the case today. Given that we are not facing an early-1990s-style affordability crisis, the rebound in the housing market will likely be quick once economic recovery takes hold.
Median Price
The median price in January was $303,000 from the $319,000 recorded during January of 2008.
Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada’s largest real estate board. Greater Toronto Area open house listings are now available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com.
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6 Things The Government Is Spending Money On To Help Real Estate
February 5th, 2009 Categories: Area interest, Real Estate News
The real estate industry is one of the big winners in the budget presented last week by the Conservative government. Cutting through the political double-speak, this is what it can mean to you:
- If you are buying your first home, or buying a more accessible home, you can get a $750 tax credit.
- You can now withdraw up to $25,000 for a single, or $50,000 for a couple, from your RRSPs to put towards your home purchase.
- You can get up to $1,350 in tax savings if you spend more than $1000 and less than $10,000 in home renovations, including making your home more energy efficient.
- Social housing renovations and energy retrofits will get a $1 billion injection.
- Housing for low-income seniors and disabled will get $400 million and $75 million, respectively, in construction support.
- The First Nations and social housing in the Territories will also get a $400 million boost.
If you are considering taking advantage of these government incentives, remember, they involve tax credits which means, you have to have the money first. Then, the government gives it back to you.
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Top Places In The World To Live
February 2nd, 2009 Categories: Area interest, Buying real estate, Real estate investment
Although the sun is shining today, Wiarton Willie tells me that there will be 6 more weeks of this season before I can come out of hibernation. I often wonder, at this time of year, why my parents settled in Canada instead of some more tropical environment. What were they thinking?
International Living magazine is helping me to narrow down my choices for where I would choose to settle.
The retirement and relocation publication compared about 200 countries in nine categories including, cost of living, culture, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety and risk, and climate. They went to reputable international organizations such as the World Health Organization, and The Economist. And they polled many other groups.
France scored at the best place in the world to live for the fourth year in a 
row. It scored high marks across the categories, but its main appeal is the quality of its culture and leisure activities, says managing editor, Laura Sheridan.
France is a buyer’s market for anyone looking at overseas real estate. Sheridan says, “Today, a euro is worth about $1.31US. Six months ago, a 100,000–euro home for sale in France would have cost you $159,000. Today, the same house would cost you $132,000. That’s a 17% drop in six months.”
Here are International Living’s top 10 best places in the world to live and their overall scores out of a possible 100:
- France, 80
- Switzerland, 79
- United States, 78
- Luxembourg, 77
- Australia, 76
- Belgium, 75
- Italy, 74
- Germany, 73
- New Zealand, 72
- Denmark, 71
I hear the thermometer dipped below 40 degrees Celsius in Australia last week. I could handle that.
(Source: International Living—1/15/09)
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