What makes a good neighbourhood?
There’s an old saying that ‘the three most important things in real estate are location, location, location. But what makes one community more desirable than another? Often, it’s the visible aspects of the neighbourhood such as pride of ownership in well-maintained houses, and clean, tree-lined streets. Sometimes it’s the intangibles, like a look or a […]
Look To The Future When Buying Home
With today’s interest rates at near record lows, many people recognize that a mortgage payment on a house can actually be comparable to what they would spend on renting an apartment or home. Perhaps you’re one of them and are ready to take a step up the property ladder. For most people, buying a home […]
Toronto Real Estate Board Announces New Zones
I am happy to report that in just a few months (starting in July to be exact), I will be able to search properties on the Toronto Real Estate Board based on ‘actual’ neighbourhoods! While we have been able to create a custom map search on the Oakville Board website for some time and drill […]
Clutter or Comfort?
Earlier today, I was reading an interesting post on decluttering by Gloria Hildebrandt, a friend who edits and publishes the wonderful Escarpment Views magazine. You can find her full post at http://www.escarpmentviews.ca/index.php/2011/01/02/200-tips-for-de-cluttering-by-daniela-santos-quartino/. I have advocated decluttering as an important first step in preparing a home for sale, as well as in making it pleasantly livable. Like […]
HST
There’s lots of confusion about how HST will affect all kinds of purchases. Here’s a short explanation of its impact on a real estate transaction: The HST will have more of an impact on new construction home sales over $400,000, as the purchase price of these homes will be subject to HST. The effect on […]
Growth in home sales
Jason Mercer, TREB’s senior manager of market analysis said that, “The number of existing home sales in the fourth quarter will be well ahead of the volumes experienced during the last three months of 2008. I am confident that the number of transactions will push through the 80,000 mark and perhaps be hovering around 85,000 […]