Toronto Real Estate sales statistics for mid-November were released yesterday by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). No real surprise here. Across Toronto, the number of overall house sales was down 19.7% while prices were down on average 7.5%. Most of this drop seems to have occurred during October when the financial markets went into a tailspin.
As with any statistical measure, one needs to be cautious when applying these numbers to any one specific community within the City, since many areas (like the Beach for example where I do much of my work) do not necessarily follow the overall City trends. The Beach remains a destination market, due to great amenities and a lovely quality of life, as well as being so close to downtown while being served by 24 hr streetcars.
Click here to download the TREB press release, or read it on-line here.
Most Canadians I believe are wondering when economic slowdown in the U.S. will hit Canada in earnest. Well, the Toronto Star published the above results today about auto sales in the two countries, and generally in Canada sales are mixed but overall holding their own, while in the U.S. they are down across the board for all car companies.
This mirrors the real estate situation, somewhat at least, in Toronto. Generally, homes are holding their value (down about 10% on average across Toronto according to the latest report from the Toronto Real Estate Board, but each area of the city is a micro-market and performs not necessarily the same as the average) but sold prices are still 97-98% of list, and are taking about 20 days on average to sell. These are far from doomsday numbers.
Of course, we are not sure what is ahead, but one thing is for sure, and that is if you are looking to buy real estate, now is the time to be shopping. Prices are not expected to drop significantly in Toronto like they already have in other areas of Canada (like Vancouver and Calgary, for example).
Real estate is now “ON SALE”, and just in time for the holidays!
The time has come. The Grim Reaper is calling my trusted Blackberry 8700. It has been a workhorse over the last couple of years, but in my real estate business I have spun and clicked the thumb-wheel one too many times and it is now permanently pushed in, and wants to select every link I scroll across. I know I can replace the thumb-wheel, and actually took apart an old Blackberry 7100 of mine
that stopped working a couple of years ago to see how it could be done (it needs to be soldered, which
I am not good at), and was quoted $80 for the part and the installation, plus tax. For that amount I am about halfway to the price of new replacement. What I
really want (I think at least, since I have not had one in my hands yet) is the upcoming Blackberry Storm.
My questions is do I wait for the new Storm expected to be available in Toronto before Christmas - both Bell and TELUS are already starting to advertise them - but not at my carrier, Rogers. Or, do I buy an iPhone, which I have been lusting after for a while. The drawback to the iPhone is the soft-keyboard that I have demoed and can’t type more than one or two words correctly, and I hear some e-mail functionality is lacking (like not being able to forward messages?). I also use Top Producer to manage my client contact information and the system does not yet have a database application for the iPhone, but they should.
So, should I wait for Rogers to have the Storm (or its next derivative) available sometime next year perhaps (and will my 8700 limp along until then?), or do I buy an iPhone now? I could always switch carriers, and test to see myself if WNP is working properly in Canada (I was the program manager in charge of the national implementation of WNP on March 14, 2007 when I was with PwC, really). I don’t think I want a Blackberry Bold or Curve since they are not really that much different from an applications perspective than my 8700. Now that I am forced to make a change, I might as well jump to the latest full-featured device.
So, I would be interested in getting your response to my poll above.
The great folks at Community Centre 55 held their annual Beach Christmas Parade Sunday afternoon along Kingston Road. They do fantastic work for the community, and hold this event annually to raise funds and to provide the local citizens with an enjoyable parade and an early look at Santa. As usual, I entered a “float” in the parade, and gave out candy canes. I decorated my Smart car this year, gave out 1,000 candy canes to the kids and to the young at heart, and saw many familiar faces, clients and friends.
Today the Toronto Real Estate Board released its October 2008 report on re-sale homes across Toronto.
The number of homes sold is down 35% compared to the same month last year. However, check out each area of the city for local statistics, since they vary. For example ‘E02′, for the Beach sales are down 33% but YTD prices are up.
The Ontario Government, in conjunction with the Federal Government, is offering ecoRebates on certain types of upgrades to houses to improve their energy efficiency. Check out the program here.
Click here to download the details of the eligible types of upgrades, which could result in as much as a $10,000 rebate.
On Monday the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) held it’s 88th Annual General Meeting (AGM). Attendance exceeded expectations, as became evident when we arrived at the Paramount Conference and Event Venue in Woodbridge and saw the parking lot full, cars and trucks parked on the lawn and down the side of the street and in area business lots. When we checked in at the front desk the organizers had run out of the meeting agenda packages and promised to send them after the meeting.
Picture Taken With BlackBerry
I was interested in attending the meeting for really one reason, and that was to hear the round-table discussion from the national executives who lead Right At Home Realty, Prudential Real Estate, Coldwell Banker, Re/Max, Living Realty, Royal LePage, HomeLife and Century 21. There were good points made by each, and the general consensus was that the current market is balanced, and slowing, and will really not pick up for the next 12-16 months. Following is a roundup of the some of the media coverage for the event.
Leuty Lifegaurd Station
