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 March, 2009
Getting Your Due From The Canadian Government
March 30th, 2009 Categories: Buying real estate, Real Estate News
The government has put a big push on to let people know that there are a lot of tax incentives out there. With tax season upon us, maybe you can claim some.
Check all the opportunities at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/menu-e.html
Here are some of them:
The Home Renovation Tax Credit
Budget 2009 proposes to implement a temporary 15-per-cent Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) to provide some $3 billion in tax relief to an estimated 4.6 million Canadian families. The HRTC will encourage investments in Canada’s housing stock, provide employment for tradespeople and boost sales for those who make and sell building products.
The HRTC will apply to eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010, pursuant to agreements entered into after January 27, 2009.
The 15-per-cent credit may be claimed on the portion of eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000 but not more than $10,000, and will provide up to $1,350 in tax relief.
Examples of HRTC Eligible and Ineligible Expenditures
Eligible
- Renovating a kitchen, bathroom, or basement
- New carpet or hardwood floors
- Building an addition, deck, fence or retaining wall
- A new furnace or water heater
- Painting the interior or exterior of a house
- Resurfacing a driveway
- Laying new sod
Ineligible
- Furniture and appliances (refrigerator, stove, couch)
- Purchase of tools
- Carpet cleaning
- Maintenance contracts (furnace cleaning, snow removal, lawn care, pool cleaning, etc.)
The HRTC can be claimed by homeowners for renovations and enduring alterations to a dwelling, or the land on which it sits.
A dwelling will generally be considered eligible for the credit if it is used for personal purposes, such as a house, cottage and condominium unit.
Benefits of the HRTC—Example
- Sally and Ed are a couple who have recently purchased a house. To take advantage of the temporary HRTC, they decide to replace their old windows and improve the insulation in their home in 2009, instead of waiting, incurring $10,000 in expenditures. After taking into account the $1,000 minimum threshold, a 15-per-cent credit will be available on $9,000 in eligible expenditures, providing tax relief of $1,350.
Additional information on the Home Renovation Tax Credit will soon be available on the Canada Revenue Agency’s website at (www.cra.gc.ca).
Home Buyers’ Plan Withdrawal Limit
To provide first-time home buyers with additional access to their RRSP savings to purchase or build a home, Budget 2009 proposes to increase the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) withdrawal limit to $25,000 from $20,000.
This is the first increase in the withdrawal limit since the HBP was introduced in 1992.
First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit
To assist first-time home buyers with the costs related to the purchase of a home, Budget 2009 proposes to introduce a First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit. A 15-per-cent credit will be applied to a $5,000 amount, and will provide up to $750 in tax relief to reduce the costs associated with first home purchases completed after January 27, 2009.
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2,565 Resale Housing Transactions Shows Rate Of Decline Shrinking
March 23rd, 2009 Categories: Ajax, Buying real estate, Pickering, Pickering Village, Real Estate News, Selling real estate
TORONTO, March 19, 2009 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® announced 2,565 transactions in the first half of March compared to 3,183 during the same period last year. The annual rate of MLS® sales decline was the smallest in five months.
Mid-month March MLS® sales increased compared to the 2,044 sales experienced in the first half of February.
MLS® sales follow a recurring seasonal trend, with transactions generally increasing between January and May and then decreasing between June and December.
“As we move into the spring market, it appears that we are seeing stronger demand for ownership housing in the Greater Toronto Area,” said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “Buyers are reacting to the market’s strong foundation of affordability.”
The average price for MLS® sales was $365,499 compared to $385,405 last year.
“Affordability has improved over the past few months due to a combination of lower home prices, near record lows for mortgage rates and rising earnings,”1 according to Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
1Average weekly earnings for the Toronto CMA, as reported by Statistics Canada, have been rising on a year-over-year basis over the past year. For example, in February 2009, average weekly earnings rose by approximately 2.5 per cent compared to February 2008.
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Need to hide some cash…Real estate is still a good investment.
March 17th, 2009 Categories: Area interest, Neighbourhood fun, Real estate investment
Well, it’s not about real estate, but I thought there might be some CEOs needed to find a place to hide some of their bonus cash from AIG. JetBlue, an American airline, has the same philosophy. Check out their latest ad campaign.
http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/jetblues-welcome-bigwigs-ad-campaign/6771
And, if you do need to find a great real estate investment, I can be very discreet. Thanks @workhomeexpert.
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Nothing Foul Around Here
March 12th, 2009 Categories: Pickering, neighbourhood
I am impressed the city council in Pickering seemed to have made a wise
decision. They listened to their constituents.
After receiving thousands of comments from residents in Pickering, the city council voted unanimously to tell the Region of York to build their sewage odour control facility somewhere else.
It was proposed that the facility would let off stink at Altona and Finch on its way to the sewage treatment facility in south Pickering.
Let York stink up their own backyard, not ours.
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First Time Buyers Can Rescue the Real Estate Market
March 11th, 2009 Categories: Buying real estate, Real Estate News, Selling real estate
Re/Max Ontario Atlantic released a report today that states that in most of the major market in Canada, buyers are in control.
When you consider that is was the first time home buyers that drove the decade-long housing boom, it is no wonder that they are considered the panacea for sagging sales.
“While the current economic crisis has caused some first-time buyers to either take it slowly or apply the brakes, home ownership remains a top priority for those who are able to take advantage of reduced carrying costs, rock bottom interest rates and lower house prices,” explains Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President and Regional Director, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “Affordability has greatly improved and buyers are firmly in the drivers’ seat in just about every market we surveyed. The new reality is that homeownership remains well within reach for most first-time buyers.”
Waiting until the market bottoms out is a gamble. Buying when we know: prices are down, money is cheap and sellers are motivated, makes good common sense.
Looking for the full report on Re/Max’s real estate market analysis, you can find it here.
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Greater Toronto REALTORS® Reported 4,120 Resale Housing Transactions in February
March 6th, 2009 Categories: Ajax, Durham Region, Pickering, Pickering Village, Real Estate News
TORONTO, March 5, 2009 – Toronto Real Estate Board Members reported 4,120 sales in February 2009 compared to 6,015 sales recorded in February 2008. The average home price was $361,305 last month compared to $382,048 during the same month last year.
“A considerable number of transactions continued to take place in February 2009. Motivated buyers and sellers, who were aware that market conditions changed over the past few months, were able to negotiate transactions acceptable to both parties,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill.
On a month-over-month basis, sales and average price were above January levels of 2,670 and $343,632 respectively. The housing market is seasonal. Traditionally, in the first half of every year, sales and average price climb to their highest levels in late spring before trending lower from July onward.
“While the economic downturn has had an impact, the GTA housing market is resting on a solid foundation. Current home prices and mortgage rates suggest that GTA homes have become more affordable on average,” according to Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “A greater number of home buyers could take advantage of this affordability once their positioning in the economy becomes more certain.”
Typically the spring real estate market tends to experience more activity and with the Canadian economy experiencing a period of low mortgage rates and strong immigration, this trend could continue. According to Statistics Canada, Canada welcomed 247,202 permanent residents in 2008, 70,000 more than in 1998, and well within the government’s planned range of 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents for 2009.
The TREB President pointed out that Greater Toronto REALTORS® are an integral part of the real estate transaction process. “TREB Members are uniquely positioned to help home buyers and sellers adapt to changing market conditions,” added Ms. O’Neill. “In addition, TREB continues to advocate public policies that do not threaten affordability but support home ownership in the GTA such as lower taxation and less regulation.”
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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