Rob Carrick makes the argument that now might be a good time for Baby Boomers to sell their home and realize the gain in house price. Home prices are at all time highs. By not selling now, boomers might be risking the high value in their home. The housing market is very cyclical. Prices go up and down. Selling now makes perfect sense. But will boomers actually sell?

My parents, and my peer’s parents are all reaching, or have reached, the age of 65. These people would be described as early baby boomers. They were born in the 1940s and they have reached their retirement age. None have sold their home yet. Also, most people that I know in their 70s and early 80s, still live in the home in which they raised their children. Is it in our culture to stay in our family residence long after we retire?

Selling a family home is a big decision for a few reasons. The first is the emotional attachment to the property. In addition to the emotional attachment, many family gatherings still take place in the family home as children and grandchildren come for Holiday dinners. Selling and moving into a two bedroom condo, or a smaller home reduces the convenience of these family gatherings. Location is another factor that causes boomers to stay in their home. Home originally purchased in the distant suburbs in the 1970, are now located in popular urban areas: as development has expanded, this homes are now in great locations.

As we have mentioned before on this blog, more and more Canadians are carrying debt into retirement. The Canadian debt to disposable income level is now at 150%. These number indicate that retired Canadians might be forced to sell their home. So as much as it’s not in our culture to sell the family homestead, it might become necessary to sell if retired Canadians want to be able to afford their retirement.

If Canadian’s do end up selling the family home in order to pay for retirement, where do you think that they will want to live? The article in the Globe says that new retirement homes are catering to early baby boomers. There new retirement homes will have all the amenities that boomers are accustom to having: pools, exercise, entertainment…

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 10 years in the Canadian Real Estate Market. Will boomers sell or stay? Will people take on more debt to stay in their family home, or sell their homes and retire?

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The Toronto real estate board just reported that the amount of sold homes increased by 25% in September and the average price increased by 10%. Wow!

This is great news for average Canadians. Average Canadians have most of their net worth in their home.

When housing prices increase by 10%, it means that average Canadians become more wealthy (at least on paper).

The average home price in Toronto has increased from $395,000 in 2009 to $431,000 in 2010, and it’s currently at $464,000 so far in 2011. The reasons for these house price increases include low mortgage rates, and high demand: new listings growth has not surpassed the amount of sold home growth, resulting in a seller’s market.

The increase in the average home price is making Canadian real estate owners and investors feel richer because homes in Canada are highly leveraged. For example if a home owner put 10% down in 2009 on a $400,000 home, it would mean that they invested $40,000 in the home and would have taken out a $360,000 mortgage. That home is now worth $470,000. This means that the homeowner has turned their $40,000 into $120,000 in 2 years (The home is worth $470,000 and the mortgage is now $350,000). That is $40,000 a year in appreciation. The home owner has tripled their money in 2 years. Of course the home owners would not see this money unless they sold (or refinanced their home).

The healthy real estate market is great for home owners, banks, and the economy. Home owners feel richer, banks receive their interest on mortgages, and the economy benefits from consumer confidence. Everything is fine for everyone, as long as home prices don’t decline.

Of course the rise in home prices means that anyone entering the market (without selling a home), will need to pay the higher price and will need to take on a larger mortgage. For example, like we mentioned above, a person buying a $400,000 home with 10% down in 2009 had a $360,000 mortgage. The same person buying a $464,000 home with 10% down in 2011 would have a $418,000 mortgage. The person buying a home in 2011 has a mortgage that is $58,000 larger. This additional $58,000 will actually cost more than $128,000 over a 30 year amortization at a 4% interest rate ($58K + $70K in interest). This is a significant difference. Does the person buying in 2011 know that they will be paying a lot more for their home than the person who bought in 2009?

Even looking at a $418,000 mortgage. Do buyers know how much money they make a year and how low it will take them to pay back that amount? Even if you can pay $20,000 a year in principal (not even including interest costs), it would take more than 20 years to pay for that home. Including interest payments, the buyer would need to pay $20,000 a year for 40 years. 40 years!

The increase in home prices is not being driven by increases in salaries. It’s not like Canadians are getting raises of $35,000 a year. Still home prices in Toronto are increasing by $35,000 a year. How long can this continue? Will home prices by 10% more expensive next year. Will buyers in Toronto be putting 10% down on an average home of $500,000 in 2012? Will the average mortgage increase from $418,000 to $450,000? I predict they will. I predict that as long as home prices keep increasing, home buyers will be willing to pay more for homes.

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I used to think “who cares”. Is it a big deal if some consumer confidence survey says that people are more or less confident than they were 3 months ago?

However, when you examine the real estate markets around the world, you can see how important consumer confidence is to home prices.

Here is an example to explain the importance of consumer confidence: If you called up a Canadian relative and told them that you just bought a home in the suburbs for $600,000, they would say “Great! Excellent decision”. Now if you called up an American relative and told them the same thing, they would say “You’re nuts. What a waste of money. Why would you do that?”.

The difference is that Canadians have confidence in the real estate market in Canada. They have seen values increase for more than 15 years. In Canada, it makes perfect sense to buy an expensive home in Canada because homes keep going up in value. People are willing to buy an expensive home and take on large mortgages because they are confident in Canadian housing prices.

The opposite is true in America. Americans have seen housing prices drop by 30% over the past 4 years. They have seen friends and relatives lose equity every year. House prices continue to decline even though homes are inexpensive and mortgage rates are at all time lows. They have no confidence in their housing prices.

This is the importance of confidence in the housing market and the economy. Once confidence fades, or turns from positive to negative, it affects everything. People who are not confident in their home values do not want to pay for renovations. They don’t want to pay for home services. They don’t want to spend any money on their home because their home declines in value every year. This is a “negative spiral” because, by not spending on their home, the home services and home depots go out of business. More jobs lost and more people who are forced to sell their homes, resulting in a decrease in home values…

The opposite is true in a positive spiral. When people think that their home is increasing in value, they have no problem with spending money on renos. When people see the same home sell up the street for $100,000 more than they paid for their home, they think that they are $100,000 richer. This causes them to spend more money on iphones, ipads, new clothes, new furniture and other discretionary expenditures. This spending creates jobs and drives the economy.

Consumer confidence has an enormous effect on the economy and housing prices. Let’s hope that there is no event that causes Canadians to become unconfident. The Canadian economy is doing very well compared to other countries. Unemployment is at a manageable level. With the US economy on the verge of a recession, it appears that interest rates will remain low for a long time.

These factors all reflect well on the future of the Canadian housing market. It’s true that Canadians debt to income is at an all time high. Perhaps this will prevent housing from increasing significantly in the near future, but is there an immediate threat to Canadian Real Estate market? Is there anything that might break our confidence?

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Studio and Studio 2 are towering examples of architecture at its finest!

While Studio on Richmond Street is a 31 storey condo tower its new sister, Studio 2, is a towering 41 storey building that reaches upwards for the sky. The two toronto condos have earned the label “tall, dark, and sexy”. Studio 2 has some very talented people, including the architects who deserve credit on the construction of these luxury condos toronto. The Brand Factory lent its art direction and Mike Niven’s brilliant interior design puts the latest tower on Richmond Street at the head of the hot real estate market today.

Choose between Studio 1 and Studio 2 and come home to luxury!

Studio 1 has 337 total units along with a nine storey podium within its overall height of 31 storeys and the newer sister tower rises up 41 floors and will finish up with about 400 condominiums and perhaps 25 town homes in the beautiful building. With condos toronto containing floor to ceiling glass and very well appointed kitchens, the open floor plan will be found in from just over four hundred square feet up to 1294 in square footage, and that doesn’t even include the penthouse units. On top of the building is a 2500 square foot penthouse that spreads out across the entire floor and just below will be four sub penthouses that occupy that entire floor. With many three bedroom units along with a plentiful supply of smaller sized condos, there will be a unit of just the right size for all who choose to reside in either towering building. The real estate toronto address is right and so are all the options at Studio and Studio 2!

Especially if you are looking for a luxury condominium in Toronto, the experts recommend focusing on the Waterfront District, where new construction projects beginning today are scheduled to stretch out over the next twenty-five years, bringing more than $20 billion into the local economy, and driving property values into the stratosphere. Invest in a luxury condominium in Toronto’s Waterfront District today while prices remain within reach, and then reap huge returns on your investment when you approach retirement age. Real estate analysts unanimously agree the Toronto real estate market will remain robust for the next several decades, making today the ideal time to buy and new construction a buyer’s best choice.

In the Waterfront District, some of the very finest luxury condominiums in Toronto still have units available. At some of the most desirable properties, developers are selling new units at “construction prices,” giving buyers literally a “ground floor opportunity.” All of the newest luxury condominiums in Toronto show telltale signs of their architects’ passion and reverence for all things unique to Toronto: many have arched ceilings, spectacular windows and natural lighting effects, and over-sized balconies that maximize residents’ views of Lake Ontario and the city’s breathtaking skyline. New luxury developments not only feature energy-efficient construction and upgraded units but also fine amenities. Complete health club and spa facilities are de rigeur in Toronto luxury condos, as is concierge service, underground parking, and easy access to public transportation.

Let’s examine what a real estate agent will do in a residential transaction.

For a buyer:

If a buyer enlists the service of a real estate agent, the agent should be performing the following tasks.

1) The agent will ensure that the buyer sign a “buyer agreement”. This contract says that the buyer will pay the agent a commission of X % if the buyer buys a home within the length of the contract.

2) The agent will then search the MLS database for a home and book appointments to see the home with the buyers.

3) When the buyer finds the home that they want to buy, the real estate agent will fill out multiple documents.

- a form that includes driver’s licence info and SIN number. This document is for the government and is required whenever large sums of money are changing hands (ie the deposit).

- a contract that includes information about how the commission will be paid, to whom the commission will be paid, and the amount (% of sale price).

- Another contract that needs to be filled out is the offer to purchase. This document will include the buyer’s name, seller’s name, asking price, address, legal description, closing date, irrevocable date, fixtures and chattels included and excluded, title search date, signatures….

- Any schedules (conditions), will also be completed and attached to the offer to purchase.

If there is any negotiation, the offer and schedules will go back and forth with changes and initials. The real estate agent will scan, print, fax, and email these documents back and forth to the listing agent.

4) Once the offer is agreed to, the real estate will instruct their buyer to go to their real estate lawyer with the signed contract.

5) If there is a home inspection, your agent should be present. They will need to let the home inspector into the home.

6) If there are any waivers or notices for conditions, the real estate agent might be involved. The agent only gets paid when the deal closes, so they have a vested interest in making sure all the documents are properly submitted by the correct date.

Once the deal is firm, you might not hear from your real estate again. They really don’t have any thing more to do, as the buyer usually deals with their lawyer from this point on.

If an agent is representing a seller, they will usually perform these functions.

For a Seller…

1) The agent will complete a listing agreement. This appointment will include a listing agreement that includes the amount of commission that they (and buyer’s agent) will receive.

2) At the listing agreement, the agent will take measurements of your property and complete the MLS data form. The agent will also arrange for, or take, photos.

3) After the listing meeting, the agent will go back to the office and arrange for the posting of the home on the MLS system.

4) The agent might arrange for showings (but often an assistant does this).

5) When an offer comes in on the property, the agent will present the offers and the seller will decide “yes or no” and sign if required.

6) The agent will then communicate any home inspection dates and confirm if the appropriate documents are received and confirm if the deal is firm.

That’s most of it! What did you think? Do you think each side is worth 2.5% commission? If not what do you think all that work is worth? Late nights, multiple documents, posting to MLS? Mutiple showings…What are all those task worth to you?

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Toronto real estate is for those who don’t have to ask the price!

On the outskirts of North York you can find pricing starting at around $200,000 (for a one bath one bedroom condo containing around 500 to 600 square feet). But those who want the prestige of a waterfront address it will find it costly at somewhere above one million for a smaller condo. Once an industrial area life along the Lake Ontario shoreline, the waterfront area is now part of the high life and with views second to none who needs to leave home?

Lifestyle determines location for condo living in Toronto

Deciding where to live can depend on age and choice in lifestyle. Younger singles and couples may prefer the busy locations in and around the downtown area while families want a more relaxed and less stressful atmosphere to raise a family. Whatever your choice in lifestyle or type of neighbourhood desired, you will find the perfect home with the assistance of a professional realtor.

1. Get Cash Back From Your Agent When Buying

Real estate agents who represent buyers have it easy. The agent representing the buyer receives the commission listed in the MLS listings (typically 2.5%). Or, if they have a buyer agency agreement, they receive the commission listed in the agreement (typically 2.5%). All the agent has to do is show the buyer homes and put in offers. Some agents will offer 1% or even 2% back to buyers. Find one of these agents!! 1 − 2% back in commission equals $4000-$8,000 on a $400,000 home. That’s a lot of money. When a buyer’s agent offers 2% back, it means that they are working for .5%. .5% on a $400,000 home is $2,000. If the agent works for 10 hours, it means that they earn $200/hr. Still not a bad wage. However, if the agent spend 100 hours on finding the buyers a home, then their rate would be $20/hr. Not that good a wage.

2. Save on Commission When Selling

Sell privately or sell privately on MLS with a flat fee listing. If you use an agent, try to avoid paying 2.5% to the listing agent. Some brokerages will list a home on MLS for $499.

3. Use Home Inspection Report to Reduce the Selling Price

If the home inspection shows deficiencies in the property, then request a drop in the agreed selling price. If the buyer was unaware of significant repairs when they negotiated the price, why would a buyer pay a that price when they learn of the deficiencies? Don’t be shy. Ask for a discount in the agreed price?

4. If Your Mortgage has a Guarantor, don’t put that person on Title.

These days, when everyone wants to buy a home, it is often required for a 1st time home buyer to have a parent be a guarantor of the mortgage. This is perfectly acceptable and it happens all the time. However, just because a parent guarantee’s the mortgage, does not mean that they need to be on title. If they are put on title, and they want to be removed later, this will cost $1,000-$2,000 in legal fees and you might need to pay land transfer taxes, again, as well.

5. Don’t Buy in Toronto

Toronto has 2 land transfer taxes. This results in an extra 2-3% going to the government. Buying a $500,000 home could result in a land transfer tax in excess of $10,000. If you have a choice, and you want to save $5,000, buy in another city. York Region, Mississauga, Pickering…

6. Reduce HST costs and Other Tax Costs

Remember that Legal fees and real estate fees are taxable. So in addition to paying $20,000 to an agent and lawyer, you will need to pay an extra $2,600 in HST (in Ontario). Whenever you can reduce legal fees or real estate fees, you will be additionally saving (13%) taxes on those fees.

7. Find a Lower Costs Real Estate Lawyer

It’s true that a good real estate lawyer is very important. If the deal get’s messy, they can do great work and save you lots of money. However, if it’s a standard residential real estate transaction, then you might consider trying to find a very good, low priced lawyer.

8. Shop around for the BEST mortgage Rate.

It’s funny how some home buyers and sellers will argue about a $2,000 fridge for days, but when it comes to their mortgage, they don’t give it 5 minutes of thought. Mortgage interest is a significant expense. Because of the amounts involved, a small change in interest rate, can save thousands over time. You should use a mortgage broker, but also do your own research. A good starting point on rates to beat are the online rates for online banks. PC financial and ING post low rates. Those are your starting rates. You mortgage broker should be able to beat those. If you’re paying more than PC financial or ING, then your wasting money.

9. Avoid Condos with High Condo Fees, or new condos that will be increasing fees.

One tip to avoid paying high condo fees is to choose a building that is 5-10 years old. Also, building with lots of units will have less fees because the fees are spread over many units. New condos tend to start with lower fees, but quickly increase them. Having a condo fee go from $300 a month to $500 a month is significant. $200 a month is $2,400 a year.

10. For New Homes: Don’t have the builder put in the extras – Get an outside contractor.

Builders tend to charge much higher prices for upgrades. Hardwood floors, granite counters, pot lights…when a builder quotes a price, don’t commit. Instead start asking for other quotes from other contractors. If you see a significant difference and the builders prices are much higher, then don’t have the builder add the extras. Instead get the base model from the builder and have another contractor put in the extras when you take title of the property. Sure, this is more inconvenient, but if you can save $20,000 by waiting another month to move it, then it might be worth it.

Money is money. You work hard for it. Don’t spend it where it doesn’t count. Saving $20,000 to $30,000 when you buy or sell a home means a smaller mortgage. When you save $30,000 when you buy a home, it means a $30,000 smaller mortgage. If you pay 4% on this amount over 25 years, it means you saved much more than $30,000. You actually saved$66,000. Money adds up.

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PropertySold.ca is Canada’s premier For Sale By Owner website. Since 2004, we have been helping Canadians sell their own home. Our recent poll of the top for sale by owner cities in Ontario has revealed the best cities for home owners to sell their home privately. Here are our rankings.

#1 Brampton, Ontario

Congrats to Brampton! Located West of Toronto, Brampton is a great place to sell a home without a real estate agent. Brampton has thousands of new real estate listings every month. For Sale By Owners are able to take advantage of a very active real estate market. Because of the high number of new homes, Brampton is a great city in which to buy and sell new homes. Many private sellers buy new homes off of builders/developers and then sell the homes without agent, taking advantage of the increase in the home price, in addition to saving real estate commissions.

#2 Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario

Yes, we know that they are two different cities. But for the purposes of our For Sale By Owner Poll, we combined the two cities into one area. Despite still not having a NHL hockey team, KW finished 2nd in our poll of the most popular cities in which to sell a home privately. The popularity of selling without an agent in Kitchener-Waterloo could be due to the culture. People in KW are simply more friendly and open to buying and selling without an agent. Perhaps people in KW are just smarter?

#3 Mississauga, Ontario

Mississauga has a similar demographic make-up as Brampton. Many new homes built in a suburb of Toronto. Finishing 3rd in our poll, Mississauga is a great place to sell a home privately. Home sellers in Mississauga specifically enjoy the option to sell privately and list their home on MLS.ca/Realtor.ca. The high home prices and active real estate market make Mississauga an ideal place to save money when selling a home.

#4 London, Ontario

London is located on the 401, approximately 2 hours from Toronto. London seems to a micro-economy that appears to function on it’s own. No one really commuted from London to another city to work. People typically live and work in London. People who live in London tend to cheer for the London Nights and support their local environment. Western University is located in London. This leads to many rental homes. Home prices in London are also less expensive compared to other similar larger cities like KW and Ottawa. The friendly, largely uniform, demographic, is very pro-FSBO. It can be very easy to sell a home privately in London if you have a good price and a quality home.

#5 Ottawa

Ottawa has a large population of government workers. These jobs might not be extraordinary high-paying, but they are stable, with a good pension, and a fair wage. This leads to a stable housing market. Ottawa does not have large price swings in the average home price. As long as the government keeps employing people in Ottawa, FSBO will thrive in this city. The bilingual language spoke by most people in Ottawa does not seem to impede buyers and sellers communicating and selling their homes without agents. Even a simple “home depot” FSBO sign will get inquires in Ottawa. PropertySold.ca has great packages that include a MLS listing through our partner brokerage. Ottawa is a popular city for PropertySold.ca

#6 Richmond Hill

Mill Pond, Yonge and Major Mac, New homes at Carrville and Bathurst or even million dollar homes at Bayview and 16ths, Richmond Hill is a great place to sell privately. It’s a high demand area. Because so many people want to live in Richmond Hill, it makes it a place where a home owner can sell without an agent quickly. Richmond hill might even have the Yonge Subway extension coming soon. Hwy 7 and Yonge is scheduled to be a high density area with condos and commercial/office space. Condos are beginning to become popular housing styles for FSBO buyers and sellers. The new Tridel and Greenpark condos built on Yonge Street are just two examples of the new condos being built in Richmond Hill

#7 Barrie

Barrie could be considered a commuter city. Many people take the GO Train from Barrie to Toronto. Many new homes have been built in Barrie over the past 10 years. This makes it a popular city for selling “for sale by owner”. There are many York Region employees who live in Barrie. People with solid jobs and a good education typically consider the importance of saving home equity when selling. They often decide that it’s better to try to sell a home without an agent and save money.

#8 Toronto

Toronto finished 8th on our poll. While not the most popular place to sell private, Toronto would most likely finish #1 if we ranked cities on Volume of homes sold privately. More homes are sold in Toronto than any other city in Canada. Toronto is the 2nd most expensive city in Canada. High home values means high real estate commissions. Who wouldn’t want to save $25,000 when they sell their home? $25,000 is the traditional commission on a $500,000 home. Toronto is divided up into Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke, and Down Town. Any of these cities might rank by their own on our list of popular cities to sell a home without an agent.

#9 Oshawa

Oshawa is the most populated city in Durham. It’s located on the far East end of Durham. Also considered a commuter city, Oshawa is home to a GM plant. People move to Oshawa for the relatively low home prices. Even though home prices are lower in Oshawa, sellers still want to save money when they sell. Oshawa is a popular place for selling privately.

#10 Muskoka

Cottage country! Million dollar cottages within a 1.5 hour drive of Toronto. Paradise! Lake Muskoka, Lake Joseph, Six Mile lake, Lake Rosseau…There are lots of cottages for sale by owner. Perhaps because the cottages are worth so much money, or perhaps because the going commission rate is close to 7% for cottages. Whatever reason, selling a cottage privately is popular. Because the properties are typically not primary residences, owners can take their time selling their cottage. They don’t need to enlist a real estate agent, if they are not in a hurry. Plus cottage owners know more about their property and their lake. Cottage owners are very fond of advertising their property on PropertySold.ca

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Mississauga, once a commuter city adjacent to Toronto, is now a large city unto itself. Mississauga now has a strong head office corporate base and an established high density down town core. Thousands of Canada’s largest companies call Mississauga home. Purolator and Cambells Soup are just a few of the companies with head offices in Mississauga. Mississauga is a great place to find and job, and as such, it has a great real estate market.

Mayor “Hurricane Hazel” has been the driving force behind Mississauga’s development over the past 20 years. She made it enticing for Corporations to establish offices in Mississauga. Along with the employers, Hazel allowed developers to increase the density around shopping centres like Square One and Sherway Gardens. New condo developments have sprouted up all over Mississauga. These condo developments are also on the cutting edge of architectural design. The new “Marilyn Monroe” inspired condo in down town Mississauga is garnering international acclaim for its’ stunning design. Although Mississauga has run out of real estate to build new homes (development has stretched to the boarders of Mississauga and Oakville, as well as Mississauga and Brampton), Mississauga will continue to increase density by replacing homes with condos and multi-unit developments.

Brampton is not quite at the development stage of Mississauga. Although Brampton is beginning to develop condos, it is still essentially a sprawling sea of endless single family residential homes. Builders in Brampton continue to push the boundaries by building homes north to the Caledon border and West toward Milton. However, because people continue to buy new homes, the builders will keep building them.

Brampton seems to have gone through three distinct “eras” of development. The original small Brampton community was located near Hwy 10 and Steeles The older homes (most likely built in the 60s-70s) still exist. They were occupied by a mainly 2nd and 3rd generation Canadian population. The 2nd wave of development in Brampton came in the 80s as the real estate boom started in Toronto. Greenpark was the main builder and they expanded on the original Brampton suburb by building large 3 and 4 bedroom homes. These homes were bought by recent immigrants from Europe. Many were Italian immigrants. The 3rd, and continuing, wave has been built from 1997 until now. This new construction is unique in that the boom has lasted more than 15 years, and it’s still going. Many of the new homes built over this period have been purchased by new immigrants from South Asia. Brampton has one of the largest East Indian populations in North America.

This is all good news for home sellers and buyers in Brampton and Mississauga. Both cities have a very large and healthy real estate markets. Brampton and Mississauga account for approximately 30,000 home sales per year. This includes more than 60,000 new home listings per year. There are more homes sales in Brampton and Mississauga than in Toronto. These two cities are big business for real estate.

There are several reasons for the high turnover in real estate in Brampton and Mississauga. As a “family” suburb, families are constantly growing and needing bigger homes. Another reason is the influx of new immigrants. Often, one of the main goals of a new immigrant is to buy a home. Low interest rates and low down payment requirement has made it possible for many people to qualify for a new home. Of course, this has led Brampton and Mississauga to have a higher mortgage default ratio than other areas in Canada. Along with a high volume of real estate transitions, also comes the opportunity to buy a power of sale in Brampton or Mississuga, or take over a rental property that has been treated poorly by the former tenants.

The competition is fierce for real estate agents in Brampton and Mississauga. There are thousands of real estate agents trying to get customers in these cities. Many agents offer lower commissions, flat fee listings, “for sale by owner” advertising, and many other ways to advertise a property for and save money. PropertySold.ca is very popular in Brampton and Mississauga. Many home sellers in those cities want to sell For Sale By Owner, but also be on MLS.ca for a flat fee. PropertySold.ca has packages that are in high demand for sellers in Brampton and Mississauga. Because these cities have a high number of real estate listings and sales, it’s an easier place to sell a home privately and save money.

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Back 30-40 years ago, roads like Dufferin or Leslie were the edges of North York and they were streets that only had a few stop signs. Now they are surrounded by high density populations and these streets now have many stop lights.

North York can be defined as being North of the 401, South of Steeles Avenue and the East to the 404 and West to Highway 400. North york is a large geographic area with many different styles of homes, spread across very different demographic segments of the population. North York can contain some of the highest net worth individuals in the country, but it also has areas like Jane and Finch, one of the lower incomes areas of the country.

Mel Lastman, before he was Major of Toronto, was major of North York. Much of the credit for the development in North York can be attributed to Mel and his administration. Mel turned Yonge street between Sheppard and Find into “Condo ally”. There are approximately 50 new condo developments that have been built in the last 20 years. Not only have there been many residential condos built in North York, but there has also been commercial/office buildings built. This has allowed the population to live close to where they work.

The Toronto Yonge St. Subway has been another strong driver for development in North York. The Yonge St. Subway ends at Finch, but a stop was added at North York Centre and a new subway line was added on Sheppard Ave between Yonge and Don Mills Road. Although the Sheppard subway has been described as “the subway to nowhere”, it has results in more condo being developed along Sheppard. Menkes and Tridel built many of the condos in North York. These condos are high end buildings with amenities that include pools, tennis courts and bowling alleys. The Condos at North York Centre are built on top of a grocery store, and retail/restaurants. The Condos at Sheppard are built over a movie theatre.

Homes in North York were primarily small homes built on decent (50′ x 150′) sized lots. Many of these homes have been torn down and replaced with mini-mansions that can sell for more than 3 million each. This goes to show that North York is a very desirable area of Toronto. It’s popular with wealthy asian immigrants, as well as many Bay Street Lawyers and Bankers. Many people commute to Down Town Toronto from North York using the subways or the quick access to highway 401 and the DVP.

Real Estate in North York can easily be described as “hot”. Most homes and condos are in high demand. Remax is a popular brokerage in North York. As is selling privately on PropertySold.ca. For sale by owners are often more successful in hot real estate markets. Because buyers are already looking for homes in the area and are ready to make offers on new listings, FSBO sellers can sell without using a real estate agent if they are looking to avoid paying a real estate commission. Asian buyers in North York are also increase the demand for real estate. Many people enjoy living close to Mel Lastman square, the Douglas Snow Aquatic Centre, and the Ford Theatre. Anyone who has lived in North York for the past 30 years can marvel at the fact that a sleepy little suburb has transformed into a high density city. A city that, on its’ own, will rival most cities in North American as being the best place to live.

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Richmond Hill’s borders are Highway 7 to the South, Bathurst to the West, Highway 404 to the East and Bloomington Road to the North. Within these borders lies many unique neighbourhoods with any different real estate styles and price ranges.

The South end of Richmond Hill has a large Asian community centring around the Hwy 7 and Leslie area. New Tridel condos have been built and there are many ethnic restaurants. The Richmond Hill City Hall offices are locates in this community, although the Leslie/Hwy 7 area is not considered “down town” Richmond Hill. That distinction goes to the community located at Yonge and Major Mackenzie.

“Yonge and Major Mac”, as it’s know, contains the Richmond Hill Public Library. The “down town” core of Richmond Hill also contains the Richmond Hill Centre for The Performing Arts. This recently built Theatre houses local concerts as well as musical guests and world class entertainers including Robert Munch, Art Garfunkel, and the Backyardigans! Other amenities include a Wave pool, and Police and Fire Stations. Many parades and festivals, including the Richmond Hill Santa Clause parade are run from Yonge St in Down Town Richmond Hill. The housing in the down town core includes a new Tridel and Greenpark condo, as well as “The Benson”, a new condo and retail building. The low rise housing in this area includes home built more than 100 years ago, as well as million dollar homes close to Mill Pond.

The North area of Richmond hill relives around Lake Wilcox and the small town feeling of Oak Ridges. Homes in this area can range from sprawling estates to small cottages. It’s easy to pay more than 2 million for a home in North Richmond Hill. Lake Wilcox is part of the Oak Ridges Morain. Many people tried to keep new home developers from building in this area. However Mcloud’s Landing and other developed sites contain hundreds of new homes built on the Oak Ridges Morain.

THe Southern area of Richmond Hill is the scene of mass development. This area of Hwy 7 and Yonge St. is planned to be one of the highest density projects in Canada. A condo development being developed along Langstaff Road from Yonge to Bayview is scheduled to coincide with a new Yonge St. Subway extension. The GO train, VIva Bus terminal, Movie Theatre, Big Box Stores, and high en restaurants all converge at Yonge and Highway 7. It’s no wonder that new home builders are tearing down older homes, on larger lots and building mansions that sell for more than 4 million dollars.

Whatever type of real estate you are looking to buy, Richmond Hill can accommodate. However, the real estate does not come cheap. Richmond Hill is an expensive place to live. The average home value is well over $500,000. But as we discussed, this be one city in Toronto that is worth the price you pay.

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The average selling price for a home in Toronto was $459,122. This was up dramatically. This was almost 10% higher than 2010. The average price in July 2010 was $418,675. This is an increase of more than $40,000.

Often people compare the real estate market to the stock market. They say that people are better off in the stock market. Considering that the stock market recently lost all gains in 2011, the real estate market appears to be more stable place to keep your money. This week the stock market has increased and decreased by 5% on a daily basis. Radical stock market variations makes investors nervous. However, home owners are not nervous about their home’s value.

The return on an investment in a house can be very fruitful. When you consider how much the average Canadian is leveraged, it makes the investment appear even better. Lets consider the example of a home buyer who put 5% down on a $400,000 home last year:

The initial investment on a $400,000 home would have been $20,000. Now, one year later, the home is worth $440,000. This home owner has just tripled their money. They turned $20,000 into $60,000 ($20K + 40K increase). This is a 200% return. Compare that to a stock market that just dropped to 2010 levels.

The above example is a very simple example and it does not include all the other costs involved with real estate investment. For example, the closing costs when buying a $400,000 home in Toronto could easily be $15,000. Plus real estate costs when selling, would also be around $25,000. This makes the $40,000 increase reduced to of zero. These extra costs are often to included when people say that they “just bought a home and made $40,000″. Actually, then may have made zero.

However, if home prices continue to increase, then this reduces the affects of the closing costs. If that same home increased in value to $480,000 net year, then the increase in value would be $80,000. Once subtracting the closing costs of $40,000, the home owner made $40,000 over two years. Based on the $20,000 initial investment, this is an annual return of 50%. Not to shabby.

However, the problem with real estate market profits, is that you need to sell your home (and not buy) in order to realize the gains. When you sell your home at a high price, you often end up needing to buy a home at a high price. Unless you are considering renting, you really don’t gain financially from the increase in value in your home’s value. If you buy another home for $480,000, you still have the same amount of money in the bank…

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However, some of those compromises might turn into regrets. They say that “hind-sight is always 20-20″, which means that it’s easy to see what you should have done when you look back at your choices. Here are a look a the top 4 regrets or compromises that people make when it comes to home ownership.

1. Buying in the wrong location:

Location is the most important factor in real estate prices. However, the most desired neighbourhoods seem to always be just out of range: A little too expensive. Sometimes people can afford a good neighbourhood, but they choose a less popular location because they can buy a bigger house. These less popular locations often turn into regrets. Perhaps a buyer could have lived in the heart of Mississauga, but choose a larger home on the outskirts of Brampton. Soon the hassle of commuting longer to work and amenities, lower ranked schools, and slow rising real estate values that come with choosing a poor location, turn into regrets of buying in a less desirable location.

2. Not Buying A Big Enough Property:

Again, the size of the property is often a factor of budget. However sometimes, quick decisions and not thinking ahead, result in regret when it comes to the size of the home purchased. People often buy a 2 bedroom home or a 2 bedroom condo without considering that they will be growing their family in the next few years. They jump into home ownership right after marriage, buy a 2 bedroom, and then need to move in 2-3 years because they run out of room. Often a 3 bedroom is about $50,000 more than a 2 bedroom. This can seem like a lot of money at the time, but buying and selling also come at a cost. $50,000 can easily be spent in closing costs, moving costs, and realtor fees. It is often better to buy a slightly bigger home, one that will accommodate your lifestyle for the next 5-10 years, instead of buying smaller to save $50,000.

3. Not taking a bigger role when buying or selling a home.

Many people think that they can just pass all responsibility of pricing, negotiating, and buying and selling to their agent. Big mistake. Agents make money when the home buys or sells. Sure they want to protect their client’s interest, but you, as the buyer or seller, needs to be really involved in all aspects. If you are buying a home and your agent provides you with 3 comparables, ask for 100! No joke. Ask for EVERY home that has sold in the last 5 years. Your agent can provide you with this information, but they often don’t. Don’t you want to know home much home prices have increased? Don’t you want to see all homes and do your own research? Often people buy a home, and then find out other prices. They come to the conclusion that they overpaid, and they blame their real estate agent. You should blame yourself for being lazy. How can you put all your trust into an agent who gets paid if you buy, whenever you buy, whatever you buy. This “real estate agent regret” is typically blamed on the agent, but it’s safe to say that it’s usually the fault of the buyer or seller.

4. Buying a “Fixer Upper” instead of paying for a “move-right-in” house.

Sure fixer uppers are less expensive. Sure you can rationalize the decision by saying “we get to make our own renos instead of paying for someone else’s. But often people take on more than they can choo when they buy a fixer upper. The costs, time, and hassle can create a strain on the family that is really not worth it. If you ask most people who have bought a fixer-upper, they will tell you that it wasn’t worth it. They regret the decision. They will tell you that they should have just bought something nice and finished and they would have been happier. Renos are very expensive, and rarely do people get the money back on reins. Typically it’s less than 50%. So when you consider buying “someone else’s renos”, you should consider that you are buying they at 50% of the cost. That’s a great deal!

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Many people these days want to do as much work as possible in order to save as much money as possible. This is true with many different industries. Many people will do their own house painting, their own landscaping, and their own online banking and online travel bookings. They have the choice to pay a professional to do this work for them, but they choose to do the work themselves because they want to save money. This is true when it comes to selling a home privately.

Some people might say that they sell privately because they enjoy the interaction with the buyers, or that they don’t trust real estate agents. However, the main reason that people sell privately is to save on the real estate commission.

However, in selling privately and saving money, sellers still want the maximum exposure for their home. They don’t want to limit the pool of buyers because less buyers sometimes means less demand for a home, and this can affect selling price. So people want to be on MLS.ca and still save money.

There are two sides to the “real estate commission” and thus two areas to potentially save money. The first side is the “listing side”. Typically the “listing side” of real estate commissions costs sellers 2.5% . This “listing side commission” is added to the other side (the 2.5% paid to the buyer’s agent) to bring the total cost to the seller to 5%. The “listing side” is usually the easiest side on which to save money. In Toronto, will allow real estate sellers to list their home on MLS.ca for only $499.95, plus the cost of a PropertySold.ca listing is included in the price.Thus, the cost to list a home on MLS.ca is now only $499.95. The seller has reduced the cost from 2.5% to $499.95.

The other “side”, as mentioned above, is the commission offered to an agent for bring a successful buyer. The cost for this, again, was typically 2.5%. This amount is slightly more difficult to save. Sellers need to ask themselves a few questions. For example, what % of buyers are using agents. The seller should also ask themselves if an agent will be less or more motivated to bring their buyer to a home that is offering 2.5% vs a home that is offering less than 2.5%. Buyers get to choose exactly how much they want to offer as commission to an agent to bring a buyer. Some buyers choose 2.5%, some choose 2%, some choose $0.

When considering using or not using an agent, you must think about some facts. In Toronto, there are approximately 30,000 real estate agents and brokers. These agents/brokers are responsible for 80,000-90,000 home sales per year. Other facts include that 85% of buyers begin their home search online. This means that although agents sell thousands of homes every year, there is a chance that a buyer will see your home for sale and bypass the real estate agent.

The difficult part about selling a home these days is that the market is becoming more fragmented. In the past, selling privately was not common. Everyone just paid 5-6% and that was the way it went. But today, there are options to save money, but there are no guarantees. People want to know “how often” a home sells privately or “how often” an agent is involved. There is really no statistics available on these questions. The large factor that drives people to try selling privately, is that they can alway switch to the more traditional method of a full service agent if needed. If you try selling privately, you might be successful and save thousands of dollars in real estate commissions. If you are not successful, then you can choose to pay commission and rely on the standard traditional real estate services.

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Zillow is an American real estate website started by former Microsoft employees. This website is not linked to any specific real estate brokerage and is not registered to trade in real estate. It’s simply a real estate advertising website. Zillow access information from local real estate boards and post that information publicly to its’ website visitors. This means that, unlike Canada, anyone can see how much the home up the street sold for and how many days the home was on the market. Canadians cannot access this information unless they receive this information through a real estate agent or brokerage.

The article points out that some people thought that Zillow would change the American real estate landscape. Some people thought that if anyone had access to this information, that they would choose not to use a real estate agent. However, Zillow has not had a definite impact on American real estate business. In fact Zillow only has revenues of $30 million. And this is after many years in business and many millions invested in the company. To $30 million into perspective, the amount of agent commissions paid in Canada last year was approximately 6 Billion dollars.

Will Canada soon have a Canadian Zillow? Time will tell. Not only does CREA need to change, so do all the individual real estate boards. It will not be easy for large real estate boards, like the Toronto Real Estate Board, to give up their proprietary data.
Perhaps a first step is for the boards to allow real estate agents to provide their clients a user/password to access sold prices. However, a few years ago TREB instituted a system that blocks agents from giving away their user/password to their clients. Ultimately, real estate agents are paying to maintain a database of sold prices and they have no motivation to provide this to all the public to access for free.

If it does happen, it will most likely need to be forced upon the real estate boards by the Competition Bureau. Plus any company who wanted to access the sold information will most likely have to pay for the right to access the date.

Real Estate Agents and Boards seem to be the focus of the competition bureau. Last year, the boards were forced to change their rules and allow for “mere postings” on their boards. Now they want agents to give away information. My questions is “If information should be provided free, then why not force the land registry to release data?” The land registry has all the sold prices for private sales, agent sales, and builder sales. The sold prices in the land registry are closed sales, and are public information. Real estate agents have sold prices for deals that have not closed. These deals can fall apart, and they are not closed, so why would they be public?

If the data is available, will one real estate website rise above the rest? Will MLS.ca/Realtor.ca publish sold prices? What qualities will make a certain real estate website popular if they all have access to the same information? It’s safe to say that some of the qualities will make one real estate website stand out will be user interface, functionality, and search engine optimization. PropertySold has all these qualities. You can be sure that we will be there if (and when) this data is released to the public. Although we imagine that this will not happen as quickly as thought. Plus this will not happen without a fight from real estate brokerages.

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Lets examine some of the scenarios that would come with rising interest rates. If interest rates do rise:

- Mortgages will cost existing home owners more (especially variable rates because their not locked in). The monthly payments will increase.

- Home’s will become less affordable. This means that if a potential buyer could afford a $400,000 home at a 3% interest rate, they would not be able to afford that same home at a 4% interest rate.

If rates rise enough, homes prices may drop because buyers will simply not be able to afford current day prices. This could means that sellers might become “trapped” in their home. Here’s why:

If a home owner bought with 5% down and home prices drop by 5%, then this person can not really move. If they sell, they will have lost their equity. This means that they will not have any money for a down payment and will not be able to buy another home. If they need more space because their family is growing, or if they find a job on the other side of the city, too bad. They are stuck. Their only option is to sell and rent or to stay put.

Interest rates have generally declined for more than 10 years. In 2005, the overnight rate was near 5%. If you consider what it would take to get back to, the already low, 2005 rates, you could say that we have very little to fear for rapid rate increases. Even if the Bank of Canada raised rates by .25 basis points at each decisions (8 per year), it would take 2 years of consistent increases to get back to 2005 levels.

Many economist point out that each increase in the over night rate will make the value of the Canadian dollar increase (it’s already at 1.05/US$) and this hurt Canadian exports. Also each increase in the overnight rate will increase variable mortgage costs making monthly payments even more expensive. If homeowners need to pay more, it will make the Canadian consumer think twice about spending money , thus hurting the economy.

It looks like that a rapid rise in interest rates could be unlikely, but only time will tell. It’s alway good to examine the “what if” scenarios and make sure that, as Canadian homeowners, we are prepared for different possibilities. I imagine that employees at the Bank of Canada were one time Boy Scouts because they like to remind us to “Always Be Prepared.

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Toronto is located in Ontario, Canada’s most populated province. Toronto is made up of the metropolitan Toronto, including North York, Scarborough, and Downtown. The Greater Toronto Area also includes Halton/Peel (Brampton, Mississauga), York Region (Vaughan, Markham, Aurora, Newmarket), and Durham Region (Pickering, Ajax, Oshawa, and Whitby). The Greater Toronto Area has more than 5 million people (can is considered the 4th largest “city” in North America, behind New York, LA, and Mexico City. Toronto is a World Class city with world class real estate. This is part of the reason for high real estate prices in Toronto.

Toronto has plenty of job opportunities that range from CEOs of Canada’s largest companies (Banks, Pension Funds, Retail, and Commerical head offices). A healthy job market leads to a healthy real estate market. When you consider the opportunities for employment in Toronto, you cannot be surpassed by the high real estate prices. CEOs, CFOs, VPs all make good salaries. These people can afford million dollar homes in Yorkville, Rosedale and on streets like the Bridle Path. Even mid-level managers and administrative positions can allow for home ownership.

Toronto has a public transit system that allows people to live in the suburbs and commute into the city to work. Many people take the GO train from Oshawa, Barrie, Mississauga, Brampton (etc) into the city to work. Without the public transit, people would not be able to get to work or afford homes. However, this also drives up the price for homes in the suburbs. Most detached homes in commuter areas of Toronto sell for more than $500,000.

Other cities in Ontario such as Ottawa, London, Kitchener, and Hamilton have also seen their average home price increase significantly over the past 10 years. Although real estate in the other cities of Ontario have not increased as fast as Toronto.

Another reason for a hot real estate market in Toronto is the vast number of real estate agents. There are approximately 30,000 real estate agents in Toronto. There is 1 agent for every 4 homes sold and approximately 1 agent for every 166 people in Toronto. The high volume of agents can keep the market inflated. The real estate agent’s job is to find buyers and sellers and bring them together. When you have that many agents talking to people and convincing them that it’s a good time to buy, then the market will be active.

In the 1990′s Toronto had a real estate crash where prices dropped from $270,000 to $200,000. However, since then Toronto’s housing market has increased every year. Who knows what is in store for the Toronto real estate market? The market might continue to go up, it might drop, or it might remain flat. Regardless, Toronto has many great reasons to make it home, and to buy a home!

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These days, most people who say “it’s better to buy than rent” are usually talking from the experience of buying a home in the past and they fail to simply look at the mathematics involved in today’s current real estate market. It’s difficult to argue or discuss with ignorant people who simply spout “renting is throwing money away” without any backing statistics or numbers, but lets look at a home as a retirement savings plan.

A home is often considered a forced saving plan. This is because each mortgage payment has to be made up of interest and principal. So even if a person is paying $2,500 a month on their mortgage, at least a certain % of this amount goes towards paying down the amount owing on the home. For example, if $500 of a $2,500 mortgage payment goes to paying down the mortgage then $2000 goes as a interest payment to the bank. In this example, at least $500 is being “forced” into savings (home equity).

Over the past 30 years the average price of a home in Toronto has gone from $50,000 to $500,000. An increase of 10 times. This means that there is a generation of Canadians who have the ability to sell their home for a lot more than they paid. They can use this money to help fund their retirement. If you compare this situation to people who rented over the past 30 years, who do you think is better off?

Another way to look at a similar situation is to say that a generation of Canadians have no mortgage on their home and can retire without a mortgage obligation. Whereas if a person rented for the past 30 years, they will need to pay rent each month.

It’s safe to say that home ownership was a quality investment over the past 30 years. The question is “is this still a valid retirement strategy?”

The big question is “will an average home in Toronto be worth 10 times more than today”? Ten times today’s average price is $5,000,000 for a home? Or perhaps we can say that the average home has increased by $450,000 in the past 30 years. So perhaps the average home will be worth $950,000 in 30 years (this would only be an annual increase of less than 3%).

We are living in a different reality in 2011. Children tend to live at home for much longer than they did 30-40 years ago. Rarely does a child leave home at 18 and get married at 21 and buy their first home at 23. In 2011, people get married later and buy their 1st home later in life. People are buying their first home in their mid 30s and because prices are so high, they are taking out 35 year (now 30) mortgages, at record low mortgage rates. When you take out a 35 year mortgage at age 35, then you are 70 years old before it is paid off.

The economic, social, and psychological factors are completely different in 2011 than they were in 1981. Because of this it’s silly to say “renting is throwing your money away” and “home prices alway rise”, without doing the math, understanding the situation.

The bottom line between renting and buying are the costs involved in shelter. When comparing renting and buying, the basic shelter costs should be the amount of money that is not principal. If a home owner pays $2,000 a month in interest costs another $500 in taxes and repaires then the costs of home ownership are $2,500 a month. If a renter pays the same amount in rent, then the difference will be the increase or decrease in the value of the home. History has shown that home prices rise over the long term. Home owners win in this situation. On the flip side, if the renter can rent for $1,500 and save $1,000 a month, odds are that they will be further ahead if you factor in the different elements that affect home prices (interest rates, demand, demographics…)

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The good news is that real estate lawyers handle most of the details of the funds and title, and as a buyer or seller, all you need to do is wait. However, it pays to be onto of your lawyer. Just because you are scheduled to close on a certain day, it does not mean that you will. Lawyers can get busy, banks can get busy. You often need to be in close contact with your bank and lawyer to ensure that they know your home is scheduled to close and that everything is proceeding as you want.

On closing day the buyer’s money needs to be transferred from their bank to their lawyer and then onto the seller’s lawyer. In the case of a person selling and buying on the same day, problems often ensue when a buyer is waiting for the funds on the home they just sold (did I just lose you?). If you sell a home, you have to wait for that money from the buyer. If that money is transferred from the buyers to your lawyer at 4pm, then there will most likely be not enough time to transfer that money to the lawyer of the home you just bought. You are now homeless (even if for one night), because you have not closed on the home you just bought.

Now imagine the above scenario happening on a Friday or a Thursday of a long weekend? You could be homeless for 3 days!

Lawyers will not release the keys to your new house until they have received funds and registered title. You can also not insure a home that you have not closed on. So even if you somehow obtain the keys to your new home, you will not be insured.

Tips on Closing Day

- Always try to close on a Monday -Wednesday. This will allow Thursday and Friday.

- If possible try to close on the home you sell one day before closing on the home you bought. Bridge financing might be needed, but it’s really not that expensive. A few hundred dollars might be worth the hassle of buying and closing on the same day.

- If you plan on doing both on the same day, do not assume that you will be able to move into your home. There is a chance that you will not get the keys. Make other arrangements just in case.

Where is your real estate agent on closing day?

You real estate agent really has nothing to do with closing day. Their job was mostly completed when the offer firmed up. They were the assistance in the marketing and offer negotiation. Closing day is all about your lawyer and bank. Sometimes people expect their real estate agent to be involved in the closing process, but other than offer advice, there is nothing that they can do.

Moving is a stressful time, but eventually all the problems are solved and you move into your home. You begin to enjoy your great new home, and you forget all about the move. So whatever problems you encounter on your moving day, remember they are typically temporary. The best advice is to “Relax” and “Enjoy!”

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Our ultimate goal is to continue to work to make PropertySold.ca the best Canadian Real Estate Website. We set clear and precise plans for our Real Estate Website. They include continuing to dominate the online real estate search results, offer outstanding customer service, and being the Canadian source for real estate new listings and real estate news.

The real estate market is made up of home sellers, home buyers, real estate agents, and new home builders and developers. Each of these groups has their own goals. Sellers want terrific exposure for their home for sale without paying too much money in real estate commissions and fees (Our FSBO package starts at $49.95 and an MLS package is available for only $499.95). Home buyers want to be able to find their next home online (more than 5,000 properties can be found at PropertySold.ca). Buyers want to be able see private home listings as well as Realtor listings. Real estate agents want to be able to expose their listings, and themselves. Real Estate Agents want to offer excellent customer service to their client, but also have their work lead to new clients in order to keep their business running. Our website has built in Social Networking for Real Estate Agents: Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube links for Real Estate Agents. New home builders and developers are looking for a way to find buyers and stand out from the crowd. New Home Developers can advertise their model homes in order to sell inventory homes or sell from plan.

Since 2004 PropertySold.ca has dominated Online Canadian Real Estate Search Results. Because we now offer excellent value and results to the entire spectrum of real estate groups, our website listings are growing exponentially. If you are a seller, an agent, or a new home developer, you now have an opportunity to take advantage of our search engine optimization and discover want the internet can do for you.

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Toronto East:

Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, and Scarborough all have GO train stations stops. This is a very popular Go train line. Home owners typically drive to the GO station, park, and then take the train to Union Station in down town Toronto.
In addition to the public transit riders in Toronto East, there are just as many people who drive to work from Toronto East. The daily evidence of a packed 401, proves this.

Toronto North:

Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Barrie, Bradford, Vaughan, Markham also have GO station stops. In addition York Region Transit has buses which connect to the Toronto Subway System. Commuters who drive typically take the 400 or 404/DVP series of highways.

Toronto West:

Brampton, Mississauga, Etobicoke have access to public transit. There are GO train stations in Brampton. In Mississauga, the Oakville GO Train line is available. Drivers typically take the QEW into Toronto, or the 410/401 highways.

Central Toronto:

North York, Toronto, Scarborough and Etobicoke residents all have access to street cars, subways, and buses. Even with multiple options, many people in Toronto still drive to work.

Where you work and the daily commute is a consideration when purchasing a home. Home buyers have to decide whether they will be driving or taking public transit. Will they spend more money on a home in order to live centrally or buy a home in the suburbs?

It’s easy to put a price on the qualitative factors of commuting. For example, the Go Train can cost $250 a month. If you live within walking distance to the GO Station, can you eliminate a car? If you can, you avoid paying for the car and insurance for the car (insurance alone is the price of a monthly Go Train pass). Gas is a very expensive. If it costs $50-$100 a week in gas to get to, and from, work, then this equals $4,000 a year. This is equal to the interest costs on $100,000 @ 4% interest.

While commuting distance might not seem like an important factor when buying a home (most people are thinking about granite counters), it ultimately becomes an extremely important factor. The daily commute is just that: Daily. 5 days a week, you need to get to work. If the commute is unenjoyable, frustrating, and stressful, then it will negatively affect your quality of life. Can you put a price on this?

Should home buyers in Toronto spend more time considering the impact of proximity to work when purchasing a home? If your alternative was to

A) purchase a home close to Go Station, commute to work, eliminate a car, and pay $100,000 more for your home. Or..

B) purchase a home further away from your work that required you to drive in traffic for more than 2 hours a day

..which would you choose?

The 3 most important factors when looking for a home are “location, location, and location”. As gas prices rise, more and more buyers will be looking to purchase homes in close proximity to GO Train stations and Subway stops. Typically in a housing bubble, the homes in the suburbs, with long commutes, are the first to lose their value. Homes located close to jobs and transit hold their value better than homes further away.

Everyone should make their commute an important factor in choosing a home. Perhaps before purchasing the home, make the commute. Spend one morning and one evening driving or taking public transit from the home you are considering buying to work. This will let you know exactly what you can expect on a daily basis if you purchase the home.

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Home values are very important. They play a very key factor in obtaining home equity lines of credit. When home values are high, they can lead to a consumer spending more discretionary income (for example, when you think you have made an extra $100,000 on your house, you tend to spend more.) So high home values actually help the economy. The reverse can also be true as we are seeing in the USA. In America, many home owners are underwater (in a negative equity position: mortgages larger than the home is worth). This has led to the American consumer choosing to save more money and spend less.

The important qualities of home values are that they are not static, or guaranteed. They can change from month to month and they can change very quickly. They are also not guaranteed, in that, just because someone paid $400,000 for the home up the street, does not necessarily mean that another buyer will pay $400,000 for your home. Each home is unique and each buyer is unique. However, most people will say that their home is worth “X” because a home down the street sold for “X”. Most people will have an inflated value of their home’s worth. The dangerous aspect of an inflated value is when home owners withdraw equity from their homes based on this inflated worth. It’s only when they need to sell, that they realize their home is worth $50,000 less than they thought, plus they need to pay another $20,000 in realtor fees when they sell.

How to know the real value of my home?

The real value of your home will only be known when you actually sell your home. Before that, you can only estimate the value of your home.

Bank Appraisal:

If you are considering re-financing your home, the bank will usually perform an appraisal. We have found that the value that a bank put’s on the home for re-financing tends to be high. In one instance, a home was listed for sale for $520K and did not sell. After not selling, the owner refinanced and the bank appraised the value at $570K. How can a home that could not sell at $520K, be worth $570K? So even if a bank tells you your home is worth “X”, it does not mean that your home is worth “X”.

Real Estate Fair Market Analysis:

Nearly all real estate agents will offer “Free Market Analysis” to consumers. This tag line “Free Market Analysis” is used in many real estate agent advertising (bus benches, newspaper ads, billboards). Real estate agents use this offer to “get their foot in the door”. They want to meet as many people as possible in hopes of landing a new client.

A real estate agent’s “Free fair market analysis” comprises of printing comparable listings in order to come to an approximate value. There is a significant “room for error” in all Free Fair Market Analyisis completed by real estate agents who are trying to gain you as a customer. There is a high probability that the “analysis” will be bias. For example, if you had 3 real estate agents providing you with an analysis in hopes of getting your listings, most likely they would show you “selective” comparables with high selling prices. Potential sellers tend to use the real estate agent whom they think will get them the most money when they sell. “But wouldn’t the agent just be waisting their time by over pricing the home?” Of course they would, but what typically happens is that the seller’s get fed up, reduces their price and sells. Experienced agents know that this is just a part of the real estate business.

Do your own “Comparative Market Analysis”.

This is the best suggestion for knowing what your home is worth. First find the sold prices by calling a real estate agent. Tell them that you want all the recent sold prices from your neighbourhood. After you
obtain the sold prices, you can make your own mathematical and rational decisions. If there is an exactly similar home sold, in the same neighbourhood, then it will be easy to determine your value. If there is a slightly similar home, then add or subtract the differences. You can find the price of an upgraded bathroom kitchen or floors at Renova.ca. For example if the home that sold has a new kitchen, then you would subtract the price of a new kitchen from the sold price.

Always compare apples to apples. You should always take important factors into consideration when finding the value of real estate. Backing onto railway tracks will reduce value. Fronting on a major street will reduce the value. Living next to a gas station will reduce the value. So make sure that the home you are comparing your home to has similar interior and exterior features.

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The first step is to examine your own financial situation. You will need to examine how much money you have for a down payment. The minimum down payment in Canada is 5%. If you have 20% of the purchase price for a down payment, you will avoid paying CMHC fees. CMHC charges a fee on all down payments less than 20%.

In addition to your down payment, you will also need to budget approximately 3-5% of the purchase price for land transfer taxes, legal fees, and other costs. As a buyer, you do not directly pay real estate commissions. These fees come out of the seller’s pocket.

As part of your financial analysis, you will need to examine your take home income and also know your debts. If you have student loans, card payments, credit card debt, or lines of credit, this will reduce the amount of money you will be able to borrow.

Action: The first action set when looking for your first home is to find a mortgage broker or bank and get a pre-approved mortgage. After you have a pre-approved mortgage, you will know how much money you can spend to buy a home.

Step two: Build your team

In addition to a mortgage broker, you will also need a lawyer, and, most likely, a real estate agent. Since this is your first home purchase, it’s best to use the experience of professionals with experience. Make sure to talk to friends about their experiences and see if they can point you in the direction of a quality real estate professional. Make sure your lawyer is located close to you and is specialized in real estate transactions. Also make sure that they are not too busy to spend time with you, and conversely, not too desperate that they will say and do anything just to get you as a customer.

Action: 3 Quotes from each

A good tip is to call and interview 3 agents and 3 lawyers. Be sure to ask lots of questions. Ask you real estate agent if they offer a buyer’s rebate. Your agent will most likely to be collecting 2.5% commission if you purchase a home with them. If you are doing all the looking (on mls.ca and propertysold.ca), then you most likely deserve a commission rebate. Even if you received a 1% rebate, this could be equal to 3-5K. Make sure to get this rebate in writing before buying a home.

Step 3: House Research

You will be looking for homes on MLS and on PropertySold.ca. Get your agent to set you up for automatic buyers alerts so that you are emailed new listings each day. You can also set yourself up for automatic updates on PropertySold.ca

Action: Visit homes

The best advice is to visit as many homes as possible in as many neighbourhoods as possible. The saying goes that real estate is about “location, location, location”. 1st time home buyers should not be rash about buying a home. It’s a big step and the more homes you look at, the better educated you will be. Think about how you will be using the home and which rooms you will be spending the most time in. Are those the nicest part of the home you will buy?

Step 4: Making an Offer

Your financing is in place and you have found the home of your dreams (in your budget). Now is the time to make an offer. This is where the real estate agent might be of some help (but remember the conflicting interest that the agent gets paid when you buy). Make sure the agent shows you all the recent homes sales in the area, and come to a conclusion of fair market value. You can listen to the agent, but the best advice is to make the decision yourself. You are buying the home, you are paying the money. You will have no one to blame but yourself, so don’t let anyone talk you into or out of buying a home.

It is very smart to put in conditional clauses into the offer for home inspection and financing (plus any other clauses you deem necessary). The will allow the buyer the opportunity to walk away from the home if they do not like information uncovered in the home inspection. Plus it lets you review the pre-approved mortgage with the bank to make sure that they will lend you the money.

Action: The best action is to do your research, visit lots of homes, know what you want, and then you find it, pay the fair market value for it.

Step 5: Moving in: Closing date.

After your offer was accepted and conditions. You will be taking the accepted offer to your lawyer. You will also be providing this offer to your bank/mortgage broker. The banks and the lawyers will handle most of the other details related to closing the home. Your real estate agent or lawyer will provide a list of utilities to contact. You will also need to get ahold of your cable or internet company: Especially if you are moving in when the Vancouver Canucks are in the Stanley Cup Finals!

Go Canucks Go!

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If you are considering buying your first home, here are 5 very important tips to make sure that you don’t make a mistake.

1) Relax. Good things come to those who wait.

We all know the feeling: You are tired of renting a small apartment or living in your parents basement. The bank is willing to offer you hundreds of thousands of dollars in mortgage funds and you can’t wait to just buy anything! As exciting as it is going to be to buy your first home and move in, you want to make sure you carefully examine the important factors. Location, functionally, commute, neibourhood, condition of the home…Take your time and make sure you are purchasing a good, solid home that you will enjoy, and not regret?

2) What’s your 5 year plan?

Are you planning on getting married and having children in a few years? Will you be moving jobs? It is very important to consider your near future and how it will affect you in a few years. It can be very expensive to move. You will need to pay realtor fees, legal fees, mortgage fees… SO try to choose a home where you will live comfortably for 5 years.

3) By a starter home or go big?

If you can afford to do so, it might even be better to buy a home that you will be able to live in as your family grows. If you can purchase a large home that you will not outgrow, then you will save money by not having to move.

4) Don’t over extend.

Even when considering tip number 3, it’s also important to not over extend your finances. So if you have $20,000 for down payment and the bank is willing to lend you $400,000, then do you look for a home for $300,000 or do you look for a home for $420,000? Most people look for a home in the $420,000 range. And then you end up paying $450,000 in a bidding war and borrowing money from your parents. Right? Bidding wars are exciting, aren’t they? Does it feel good to “win” a home by paying significantly more than the home should be worth?

5) More Patience is needed.

After you purchase your home, you will most likely have no money. There will most likely be some renovations you would like to do. There will most likely be new furnitures and new TV to buy. One good tip, after you purchase you first home, is to simply wait before buying new furniture or doing renovations. It is wise to live in the property for a period of time so that you can understand how you use the home. You will realize which rooms are important and where you should spend your money. For example, one common mistake is spending $5,000 on living room furniture and then realizing that no one ever uses that room.

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This is 16 years without a decline. Even in the financial crisis of 2008, the average price for a home in Toronto grew from $376,236 to $379,347. In April of 2011, a new average price record was set: $477,407. These statistics indicate that the real estate market in Toronto has been on fire.

The average price for home in Toronto can vary throughout the year. November and December typically have the lowest prices of the year (although not always) and March, April, and May typically have a higher average price. Although it’s difficult to generalize by month because if the market is rising quickly thought the year, then home prices at the end of the year will be higher than the beginning.

There are a multitude of factors that affect the average price for a home in Toronto. These include:

Supply (number of listings)
Interest Rates
Employment Rate
Mortgage Rules
Demand (desire to own a home)

In the past 16 years we have seen these factors positively affect the average price:

Supply (number of listings): The supply of homes (resale and new) has remained steady and has not outpaced demand.

Interest Rates: Interest rates have been remained low or declined for the past 16 years.

Employment Rate: Apart from the financial crisis, employment rate has remained at an adequate level.

Mortgage Rules: Mortage rules have, until recently, softened to make it easier for home ownership.

Demand (desire to own a home): Demand to own a home seems to be at an all time high. 70% of Canadians now own homes. It’s become part of our culture to frown upon renting and applaud home ownership.

How high can the average price for a home for sale in Toronto climb? This question does not have an answer yet. Every time we see a new high set, we wonder is this it? But until now, there has always been an higher high! The Canadian Real Estate Association is forecasting new highs for 2011!

Real Estate home sellers have usually invested a lot of time and money into their home. After most people purchase a home, they want to complete renovations in order to upgrade their home. This is especially true in urban centres like Toronto, Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough, where older homes are being purchased and fixed up. Buying and renovating also occurs in newer urban centres such as Mississauga and Brampton. In Brampton and Mississauga, where the home was perhaps built in the 80′s or 90′s might just need a new kitchen, floors and paint versus having to rewire or do structural repairs. Either way you look at it, typically most home buyers tend to invest in their home to make it better.

As everyone knows, renovations can be very expensive, so it comes as no surprise that when it comes time to sell, home owners want to keep as much money as possible.

The Easiest Way To Save Money When Selling Real Estate:

Because home owner want to keep as much money as possible from the sale of their home, they usually choose to try to save money on the real estate commissions when they sell. Real Estate commissions are negotiable, but tend to average 5% (on the high side) and 3.5% (on the low side). Their percentage equates to a large amount of money. On a $400,000 home, 5% is $20,000 and 3.5% is $14,000. Plus home sellers need to pay taxes (HST in ON and BC!!) on those commissions.

Home owners who want to save on Real Estate fees usually consider selling their home themselves. They will advertise, negotiate, and then use a lawyer to review the contract and close the deal. Because Real Estate Agents are typically responsible for the advertising of a property for sale, when you don’t use an agent, home sellers need to advertise the home themselves. For that, they come to PropertySold.ca

For Sale By Owner MLS Exposure For $499, No Hidden Fees, No Extra Costs:

For Sale By Owners want to expose their home for sale to the most amount of people with spending the least amount of fees. If you are located in Canada you will want your home to be shown on MLS.ca (or Realtor.ca).

PropertySold.ca partnered with a Toronto Based Real Estate Brokerage Located in Vaughan. Our partnership allows For Sale By Owner home sellers to advertise their property on MLS.ca. This service was integrated with our new website, launched a few weeks ago. How is it going? AMAZING!

Get Listed on the Canada MLS For a Flat Fee

PropertySold.ca’s customers are estatic about being able to advertise on MLS.ca for a small fee. In the past few weeks we have had 40 customers choose the option to post on MLS.ca. Each day this number is growing by leaps and bounds. Here is a link to the properties being advertised on MLS by our partner Brokerage.

There were a few other For Sale By Owner companies who partnered with other brokerages in other areas of Ontario and they did not list their properties on the Toronto Real Estate Board. These other brokerages also attempted post homes located in other Provinces. Recently these brokerages have received notice to remove listings from MLS if the listings are not located in the Province where the brokerage is located. The Toronto Star reported that that these brokerages have received direction to remove listings in Alberta, PEI, and Quebec. The Globe and Mail reported that one real estate brokerage received a $50,000 fine for advertising listings in Quebec.

Traditionally, brokerages have only been allowed to post listings in the province where they are located. PropertySold.ca allows our customers to post their listing on MLS through our partner’s brokerages. All listings will appear on Realtor.ca and also be posting on the Toronto Real Estate Board’s MLS system. We also have partnerships with other brokerages who a registered in other Provinces. For example, if you want to sell your home For Sale By Owner in Vancouver, you will be able to subscribe to sell your home on PropertySold.ca and also post on Realtor.ca through a local agent in Vancouver. The Vancouver agent will post your home on their local MLS real estate board system.

PropertySold.ca launched our new website last month and a significant number of our For Sale By Owner sellers are choosing to sell their home privately and also be listed on MLS. The MLS listing will show a front photo of the home for sale, plus the basic listing information including price, address, lot size, as well as a description that directs the buyers to find more information about the property for sale on the Realtor’s website. The home for sale on MLS will be shown on the MLS map as well as in the search results. More photos and information can be found on the PropertySold.ca real estate listing website.

The benefits of listing on MLS and being listed on PropertySold.ca as a For Sale by Owner listing is that buyers searching on MLS without an agent will be able to find the seller’s property and contact the seller directly. If the buyer has an agent and wants to use an agent to aide in the contract negotiations for the property, the seller can negotiate a commission with the agent if desired. Sellers can save thousands on Real Estate Commissions, plus get MLS exposure for their property for sale. Buyers can easily find homes for sale by searching on Google, PropertySold.ca or on MLS.ca.

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North York Real Estate
Houses for sale in north york Ontario
Houses for sale in north york
North york condos for sale
North york condo for sale

We are experts at driving buyers to homes advertised on our website through real estate searches on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. In 2010 we received 83,982 pageviews from buyers looking for Real Estate in North York.

PropertySold.ca received a total of 3,510,352 visitors and 18,322,988 pageviews in 2010.

Buyers, Sellers and Real Estate Professionals are able to take advantage of our website visitors.

Buyers are able to find houses, condos and townhouses for sale.

Sellers are able to advertise their properties and receive excellent internet exposure.

Real estate professionals are able to market themselves to buyers and sellers by becoming a “Local Real Estate Professional” in the city of their choice. Real Estate professionals can contact william@propertysold.ca for more information.

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North York is a great place to live! Close to highways (401, 400, 404) and located along the Yonge Subway line, North York has always had a great demand for real estate. On the Toronto Real Estate Board, North York is comprised of areas C6, C7, C14 and C15. 2010 was a great year for Real Estate in North York. Lets review the real estate statistics in North York for 2010.

Here are the real estate statistics for all properties sold (including Detached houses, Semi-detached houses, Condo Apartments, and Condo Townhouses) in North York in 2010:

Listed = 8776
Sold = 4809
Average Price = $460,478
Days on the Market = 26

The totals above were calculated from the individual areas of North York. Here are their totals:

C6 (North of 401, West of Don River, East of Allen Rd, South of Steeles)
Listed = 658
Sold = 328
Average Price = $538,485
Days on the Market = 28

C7 (North of 401, East of Don River, West of Yonge, South of Steeles)
Listed = 2304
Sold = 1255
Average Price = $439,230
Days on the Market = 26

C14 (North of 401, East of Yonge, West of Bayview, South of Steeles)
Listed = 3397
Sold = 1911
Average Price = $474,515
Days on the Market = 25

C15 (North of 401, East of Bayview, West of Victoria Park, South of Steeles)
Listed = 2417
Sold = 1315
Average Price = $440,903
Days on the Market = 25

If you would like more detailed real estate statistics for North York, please contact william@propertysold.ca