OUR TOWN REALTY NEWS

Prices and Sales Up In May.

2011-06-07T12:13:00Z

Sales and Price Increase in May June 3, 2011 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 10,046 sales in May 2011 – up six per cent compared to May 2010. This result was the second best on record for May under the current Toronto Real Estate Board service area. The number of new listings in May, at 16,076, was down 15 per cent compared to last year. "Positive economic news and low borrowing costs led to strong sales through the first five months of the year, including the increase in May,"...(read more)

Housing Prices Continue to Rise

2011-05-12T11:58:00Z

Prices in Vancouver have gained almost 30 per cent in the last year, causing concern among many in the industry who are concerned about the sustainability of such gains. Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns, said while sales have softened across the country the risk of a sharp correction is “highly concentrated in geographical terms.” He said while sales have softened across the country, the risk of a sharp correction is “highly concentrated in geographical...(read more)

More Canadians Refinance

2011-05-12T11:46:00Z

Fifteen per cent of Canadian homeowners took money out of their homes last year, at an average amount of $30,000, new data showed Wednesday. New data from the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals Wednesday showed that Canadians took out $26 billion worth of equity from their homes in 2010, an increase on the $20 billion taken out in 2009. The most popular use for those funds was home renovations, with 36 per cent of the 2,000 Canadians the group surveyed for the report saying...(read more)

Market Tightens in April

2011-05-05T10:27:00Z

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,041 existing home sales through the TorontoMLS® system in April 2011. This result was down 17 per cent compared April 2010 when sales spiked to a new record of 10,898. While off last year's record result, April 2011 sales were in line with the average April sales level reported over the previous five years. "Existing home sales have been strong from a historic perspective through the first four months of 2011. Expect the pace of sales to remain...(read more)

Canadians in Debt

2011-04-25T11:41:00Z

Canadians’ debt levels have made headlines repeatedly over the past few years. People are engrossed with how big our debt burden has grown, and what it means to the economy at large. On Thursday, Statistics Canada published a new report on how debt is affecting Canadian families. It contains loads of data and below are some of its mortgage-related findings: In the last few decades, StatsCan says the general trend has been for “average household debt to move in the opposite direction”...(read more)

Banks are Sales Driven

2011-04-11T10:58:00Z

Friendly faces in a depersonalized, online world – that’s your local bank branch for you. Branch staff are glad to talk about your financial situation, be it debt, saving or investing. They’re also eager to sell you stuff, so it’s important to know how to talk to bankers before you go in. Online banking is flourishing in Canada, as well it should because it’s cheap and convenient. But there’s a back-to-the-branches theme to a lot of what the big banks are doing...(read more)

Real Estate Market Strong in March 2011

2011-04-11T10:37:00Z

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,262 transactions through the TorontoMLS® system in March 2011, representing the second best March result on record. The number of transactions was 11 per cent lower than the record result reported in March 2010. "The strong home sales reported in March and throughout the first quarter of 2011 have been based on a solid affordability picture and improving economic conditions in the GTA and country-wide," said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President...(read more)

Bank Of Canada Rate Hikes on Hold

2011-03-30T13:07:00Z

As a whole, economists are all over the map on when the Bank of Canada will raise rates next. First-hike expectations range from May 31 to October 25. For what it's worth, financial markets are now anticipating a September rate hike. For those seeking additional perspective, here’s a sampling of the latest econospeak… *************** “…over roughly the past twenty years, the BoC has generally avoided starting a tightening campaign in an election. It only did so in 1997,...(read more)

Spring Cleaning Tips

2011-03-26T12:20:00Z

Finally, winter has passed and it's time for the much needed spring cleaning! Flowers are blooming with birds twittering signals the start of spring and time to let in the fresh air from outside. It's such a refreshing time to let out the bundle-up winter madness and clean up the clutter to make room for a fresh new season. Most people would schedule their spring cleaning easily while others find it overwhelming especially if there are so many things to do. Working people would simply take...(read more)

Selling Your Home By Yourself?

2011-03-25T14:59:00Z

Discount brokers and companies that facilitate ‘for-sale-by-owner’ (FSBO) transactions have popped up in the last six months driven by a landmark deal that has opened up the MLS listing service. Struck in October between the federal competition bureau and Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) allows realtors to offer their clients flat-fee services, including listing their property on MLS, which is owned by the CREA. It means users are free to pick a la carte services, such as signage,...(read more)

House Prices Continue To Rise in GTA

2011-03-18T12:46:00Z

Greater Toronto Realtors reported 4,138 sales during the first two weeks of March 2011 – a five per cent decrease compared to the first two weeks of March 2010. The number of new listings also dipped – down by 15 per cent compared to the same period last year. "A positive economic outlook for the Greater Toronto Area, including steady growth in jobs and incomes, has kept households confident in their ability to purchase and pay for a home over the long term," said Toronto Real...(read more)

Interest Rate Predictions

2011-03-18T12:43:00Z

Mortgage shoppers crave certainty, so they continually question brokers or bankers about where interest rates are headed. If this is something you’re prone to doing, first ask yourself if your broker or banker can predict the next global catastrophe, war, financial crisis, or sovereign insolvency. If not, you may want to rethink your question. Unforeseeable events impact mortgage rates at unforeseeable times. The events of this past week are the latest reminder of how fluid rate expectations...(read more)

CanadiansStill Confident With Real Estate

2011-03-09T16:42:00Z

Canadians are not only confident that they are assiduously paying down their mortgages, but they also believe they have the means necessary to weather a drop in house prices, contrary to worries that household debt is out of control, a poll showed on Wednesday. Almost three-quarters of Canadians, or 73 per cent, believe that they or their families are well-positioned in the event of tumbling home prices, according to the annual RBC Homeownership Study undertaken by Royal Bank of Canada . The poll...(read more)

GTA Housing Prices Continue to Rise

2011-03-07T12:25:00Z

Greater Toronto Realtors reported 6,266 transactions through the Toronto MLS® system in February 2011. This result was 14 per cent lower than the record sales reported in February 2010. But the average selling price was up and February 2011 sales were 50% higher than the number reported in February 2009 during the recession and slightly higher than the average February sales over the previous ten years. “Continued improvement in the GTA economy, including growth in jobs and incomes and...(read more)

Bank of Canada Holds for Now

2011-03-02T23:28:00Z

The Bank of Canada’s decision to maintain its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent probably took few by surprise: a Reuters poll found that all forecasters contacted were expecting the Bank to take no action. But holding rates constant was by no means the certainty that the markets seemed to think, even before yesterday’s strong GDP numbers. The Bank of Canada’s job is really quite straightforward, if not exactly simple: keep inflation at its target of 2 per cent. This is...(read more)