Toronto Real Estate | Royal LePage» Aeriol

Toronto Real Estate The Decade In Review

Aeriol — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:00:17 +0000

Our own Jason Mercer talks about the Toronto Real Estate market over the past Ten years and what to expect in terms of the market and interest rates for the coming year or two.

It’s Cheaper To Carry A Home Today At Current Prices Than It Was In 1989

Aeriol — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:52:17 +0000

Yes I did say that. For the last several years interest rates have been at historical lows. Incredibly, they have just dropped again. For most of my Real Estate Career interest rates have been between 10% and 11.75% generally averaging around 10.75%. With new five year fixed rates at 2.99% and 10 year fixed rates as low as 3.84% rates are roughly 1/3 of what they used to be.

There has been ongoing talk of a “real estate bubble” for the last 7 or 8 years. If the government really thought we were in a bubble I personally don’t believe interest rates would be as low as 3.84% for 10 years. When you can carry a $300,000. first mortgage for $1552.15 guaranteed for 10 years the risk associated with a purchase and a potential bubble has just been diminished.

This takes volatility right out of the Canadian marketplace as we have not yet experienced a down cycle that lasted more than 5-7 years before cycling back up. That same $300,000.00 mortgage at 10% would carry for 2683.46 per month. The key with this type of long term mortgage is portability or the discharge fees in the event that you should want to sell and move out of area and therefore cannot port your mortgage.

Over the past 12 years homes have increased in value on average of 6.2% per year. Is this sustainable? Probably not, but if home value increases drop to only 2-3 % per year on average will it frankly matter? At current rates it will still be cheaper to buy than to rent. The key to buying real estate is to always remember that Real Estate is a long term proposition and shouldn’t be purchased without the consideration of a 5 year time line to account for fluctuations in the marketplace.

Obviously interest rates are one of the factors that have kept our Toronto market so buoyant and contributed to the bidding wars and higher than normal yearly increases in value.

Another factor is the simple lack of supply of properties for sale.
As an example in December of 2008 there were 19,468 homes on the market. In the same period this December of 2011 there were only 12,868 homes on the market.

A total of 4718 units sold in December so that is very roughly 1 out of 3 homes listed are sold (2.73). Compare that to December of 2008 where only 2577 homes sold or roughly one out of every 7.5 homes listed actually sold.

December does generally have a slow down so let’s look back at November of 2011 where there were 15,551 listings and 7092 sales, almost 50% of all homes listed selling. Compare that to November 2008 with 27,037 homes on the market and 3640 sales or only one out of every 8 homes listed selling. The drop in homes available for sale has been gradual over the last 4 years but extremely notable.

This effect is called supply and demand and has been a major factor in keeping prices high.
A combination of low rates, less product to sell and more buyers wanting into the marketplace are the general factors keeping upward pressure on the market even if there is a recession going on.

Obviously with prices as they are the new starter home is generally the Condo which is now about 40% of the marketplace. There are also rumours that we are about to experience a condo glut, which did happen back in the 80′s. The fear is based on the fact that there are approximately 130,000 new condos either on plans or under construction over the next 3-4 years. At the moment we are consuming about 24,000 units (sales) per year. So this would need to increase to avoid a glut in a few years time. That one is a ” wait and see”. However, builders are currently working harder to sell their new units and there are lots of extras available on a purchase. If you have a young family member who wants to get into the new condo market let us know. We can represent their interests to the builder and make sure the development fees ( hidden fees the builder doesn’t tell you about) are capped so there are no last minute shocks to the tune of thousands of dollars. You can find a chart demonstrating historical interest rates for the past 60 years at www.torontoshome.com

Overall the market looks great and I am still convinced there is no better investment than real estate. I am so passionate about this business and always looking for ways I can add value to your life and to your family. If you are thinking of making some changes a move, an addition or renos, or would simply like me to do a mortgage review with you please just give me a call at (416)443-0300 or e-mail me at mytorontohome@gmail.com and I will be happy to set up a time to discuss your portfolio. I am here to help you get the best deal and make the most out of your resources and money.

I can help you to:
1/consolidate debt
2/buy another property or sell your
current home
3/pay off your mortgage faster
4/create more financial flexibility
5/lower your payments and reduce the interest you pay
6/increase your monthly cash flow
7/build more financial security

ND Sushi & Grill

Aeriol — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:27:37 +0000

At the corner of Baldwin and Beverley St. Not sure why they added Grill to the name. Nothing was grilled and there was no Bar licence which would have been the other obvious addition to this name.
The interior is spartan at best but fresh and very clean. The Sushi and sashimi on the other hand was FANTASTIC. I had a sashimi plate. Too many sushi restaurants offer several slices of a few good fish and then throw in some junk fish like the fake crab. Not ND. My plate had two types of tuna and two different types of yellow tail along with several other excellent slices. Home made ginger without pink die and fresh shiso leaves were a delight. All was of exquisite quality. We also had an order of Butterfish sashimi and some nori rolls. The butterfish was beautiful large delicious slices and the spicy tuna roll was the freshest tuna roll I have ever eaten. Might be a tad more expensive than other typical sushi cafes, but the extra dollar or two is made up in the fantastic quality. Hope they get a beer and wine licence soon. The only mistep was the lack of Sake to go with the wonderful fresh flavors. Oh and musn’t forget the service. Two lovely waitresses that were very attentive and helpful to say the least. Don’t miss out.

War Horse

Aeriol — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:18:32 +0000

My grandson and I went to see this movie over the Xmas holidays. We both loved it. Beautiful Southern England authentic scenery and a heart tugging story. Based on a book by the same name. The young man enlists in the army after his horse is taken by the cavalry. He ends up all over Europe and eventually locates his good friend. You really get to see what first World War combat was like, a good depiction and how depressing it must have been for the men. The horse being the main front story gives it a hopeful edge. Directed by StevenSpeilberg so you can’t miss. See this one.

Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows

Aeriol — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:04:06 +0000

For me this was a five star rating. Robert Downey Jr. gave an award winning performance as Sherlock and Jude Law showed a new side to Sherlock’s sidekick Dr.Watson.
Watson has always appeared as the ineffectual supportive side-kick. This version of events shows him as an able and willing co-conspirator. Jude Law develops an ineresting and complex personality for the Doctor. I would say this is the best Doc Watson yet.
Professor Moriarty played by Jared Harris develops into a larger than life position as the evil villain that Sherlock must defeat.
The movie was surprising with an element of the unpredictable keeping things interesting.
I can see there being more of these on the way. Hopefully with the same players. This was a believable Sherlock Holmes that kept my interest right to the end.

December Toronto Real Estate Market Update

Aeriol — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:45:52 +0000

An update on the December Market and an overview of the yearof 2011 in review.

The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo

Aeriol — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:48:30 +0000

I enjoyed this movie although it was rather dark. That is saying a lot as I am not a fan of the dark side.
Daniel Craig as always was intense and excellent and Rooney Mara whom I had never heard of before
was a complete surprise. I believe this was rated Parental Guidance. That was a complete mistake.
It is definitely not suited to a younger audience. The scenes of violence are quite ugly and graphic.
But it was well filmed and the acting was excellent. However I somehow expected more suspense.
In fact I found it slightly predictable.
The movie I am told is true to the book which is great to see.
I didn’t read this series because of the violent nature of the books, of which I am not a fan.

Toronto 3 Year Real Estate Sales Value Comparison

Aeriol — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:31:39 +0000

If you have been wondering how 2011 has shaped up in comparison to past years in Toronto Real estate take a look at the two graphs below.

They are quite self explanatory and will show you a volume comparison and an average price comparison for the Toronto Real Estate Market.

Toronto Real Estate Prices Up Again in November

Aeriol — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:17:27 +0000

Our market is growing and prices are still on the rise, against all expectations.

In the 3 minutes video below our own Jason Mercer tells you how the market behaved in November.

Toronto, December 6, 2011 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7,092 residential transactions through the TorontoMLS® system in November – up 11 per cent in comparison to November 2010. At the same time, the number of new listings was up by 14 per cent in comparison to last year.

“We have seen strong annual sales growth through the 2011 fall market. The increase in transactions has been broad-based, with strong growth across low-rise and high-rise home types throughout the Greater Toronto Area,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Richard Silver.

“The market has also become better supplied, with annual new listings growth outstripping that of sales. As this trend continues into 2012, we will see more balanced market conditions.”

The average price for November transactions was $480,421, representing an increase of almost 10 per cent in comparison to $437,494 in November 2010.

“Despite strong price growth this year, the housing market remains affordable in the GTA,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “The correct method of assessing affordability is to consider the share of the average household’s income that is dedicated to mortgage principal and interest, property taxes and utilities. Currently, this share remains in line with generally accepted lending guidelines. Given this positive affordability picture, average price growth is forecast to continue in 2012, albeit at a more moderate pace.”

The Concert Of The Season

Aeriol — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:10:55 +0000

I obtained tickets to this concert because it was The Toronto Symphony Orchestra playing with headliner Steve Bell at Massey Hall. I didn’t know who Steve Bell was but I could just hear in my mind the strains of the TSO ringing through the fantastic acoustics of Massey Hall. That was motivation enough.

Turns out Steve Bell mus be Canada’s best kept secret as a singer songwriter. http://www/stevebell.com. He has won 2 JUNOs, 2 Western Canadian Music awards, numerous Covenant and Prairie Music awards including Producer of the Year (2002). Along with Mike Janzen http://www.mikejanzen.com who scored the magnificent Musical arrangements. Mike Janzen is an award winning Jazz pianist, winner of the 2006 Covenant Award for Best Jazz album.

It never ceases to amaze me the talent we have here in Canada that is hidden and not fully supported. We need to get on board with supporting our Canadian musicians and artists.

The Concert was put on by a New Charitable group started in 2010 known as the Hope Exchange. The Hope exchange is a charity to help care-givers http://www.hopeexchange.ca

In December 2010, Tim founded The Hope Exchange, after working for 25 years among homeless youth and adults. In 2001, he pioneered Youth Unlimited’s Light Patrol, a mobile outreach program to Toronto’s most hard-to-reach homeless youth and young adults.

Tim’s first project, Frontlines Youth Centre,operates today in the neighbourhood of Weston, Toronto. During his career, he has worked with deaf, developmentally and physically challenged children. Tim has several published books with stories about his experiences.

The focus of this charitable group seems to be to bring hope to the hope bringers. They did not explain clearly how this is done. However, our caregivers are one of the most unsupported groups in our society and if you know someone who is a caregiver they may find some excellent help here. So check out their website.