March 3, 2009 - The Bank of Canada announced this morning that it is cutting interest rates by 0.50%. This take the target for the overnight rate to just 0.50% This takes the total easing to 4.00% since December 2007. The bank said in it's release that the global economic outlook has worsened since January with slower growth than expected in the major economies and the US recession with the weak car and housing growth is a big challenge for Canada. Q4 2008 also showed a sharp decline in Canadian economic activity. To see the detailed report, please visit my blog at http://www.aceteamrealty.com/blog.asp   03/05/2009

The top three renovations you can do to your home with the highest rate of return are: Bathrooms (75 - 100% return) Kitchens (75 - 100% return) Interior and exterior painting (50 - 100% return) Other top renovations with a high rate of return are: Replacing roof shingles (50 - 80%) Replacing the furnace and heating system (50 - 80%) Renovating the basement (50 - 75%) Adding a recreation room (50 - 75%) Installing a fire place (50 - 75%) Up-grading floors (50 - 75%) Building a garage (50 - 75%) Replacing windows and doors (50 - 75%) Building a deck (50 - 75%) Installing central air conditioning (25 - 75%) Click here if you want to avail Tax credit benifits offered by government. Visit: www.greatgtahomes.com Call me first, if you are thinking of sellin or buying a Real Estate property.   ... 02/22/2009

Between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Members reported 3,433 rented condominium apartments and townhouses in the Greater Toronto Area. This represented a 30 per cent increase over the 2,635 transactions recorded during the same time frame in 2007. A good part of this increase likely came from rental listings in newly completed condominium apartment buildings containing investor-owned units. "The increasing strength of the rental market combined with low interest rates and reasonable home prices mean that now could be an excellent time to purchase an investment property," said Maureen O'Neill, President, Toronto Real Estate Board.  To see the detailed report, please visit my blog at http://www.aceteamrealty.com/blog.asp   02/11/2009

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 2,670 sales in January compared to 5,075 in the first month of 2008. "Demand for existing homes in the Greater Toronto Area moderated as the housing market followed the broader economic slowdown in Canada," said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board's Senior Manager of Market Analysis. The average home price in the Greater Toronto Area was $343,632, compared to $374,449 last January. The median price was $303,000 compared to $319,000 last year. "Current selling prices are a reflection of more choice in the existing home marketplace," said Mercer. "At the same time, low mortgage rates have helped keep ownership housing an affordable option. Given that we are not facing an early-1990s-style affordability crisis, the rebound in the housing market wi... 02/11/2009

  WELCOME TO THE BUYER CLASS At The Buyer Class you will learn... 1.    Why buying your first home today could be the best timing in  over 50 years, in spite of the current economic climate. 2.    How to save money and buy an affordable dream home. 3.    Why you won't need to put aside extra money for closing costs. 4.    How to keep literally thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money in your pocket... not your bank's coffers. 5.    Watch this brief video now and learn how to access up to $10,000 or more from Ottawa to help with your down payment using the Home Buyers Plan, even if you have NO MONEY in your RRSP... but don't delay, as time is running out.  Full information provided at class.     Click here: VIDEO 6.    How to avoid the 7 Nasty Traps lying in wait for today's home ... 02/10/2009

Effective 28 Jan 29 through Jan. 31, 2010, homeowners can claim a tax credit for 15 per cent of renovation expenses between $1,000 and $10,000. The maximum tax credit (on $9,000 in renovations) is worth $1,350. The Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) is designed to get Canadians spending now to help create jobs in industries typically hurt by an economic downturn. The tax credit would apply to a variety of home improvements, such as renovating a kitchen, bathroom or basement, new carpet or hardwood floors, building an addition, deck, or fence, installing a new furnace, painting the inside or outside of a house, or laying new sod. Expenses such as building permits, professional services, and equipment rentals are also eligible. Routine repairs and maintenance will not qualify for the credi... 02/06/2009

Your house as seen by yourself:     By the Buyer: By the Lender: By the Appraiser: Your local Tax Assessor: 02/05/2009

Interests rates are historically low. Bank rate is 1 % ! Prime rate is 3% and all of us know its buyers market !! Compare prime rate of 4 % on 22 Jan 2008.  Do they want to buy when it goes up again ! I don't see housing rates haven't gone drastically down in my area and around yet. THat what I tell my clients: come with me and see your self. I disagree with the media. If real estate was at its peak in 2007, do we justify if we compare it with 2008.  The market is slow. If we put Lay off factors aside, for those who have a secure job or secure income from business, this is the right time to buy or upsize. They should utilize this opportunity of historically low interest rates and the current housing prices. They should not wait for interest rates and the prices to go up and t hen buy. W... 01/31/2009

"Mommy, don't," were the last words she spoke Mothers day is coming in March but what happend to this mom! In her final moments, Karissa Boudreau dug her small hands into the frozen ground and struggled as her mother tightened the twine wrapped around her neck. Read full story at: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090130/national/boudreau_killing Death penalty is easy for her. She is not only unhuman but it will be insult to animals if we call her animal. Can a mother in the world think of  bad for kids ? She should be kept locked in a room with audio of mommy don't !  BUt this is what a kid think about her Mother ! Read this. If I could give my mom the worldOr anything she wanted,I'd give her my own heart and soulAnd leave my own heart haunted. I'd take upon myself her lifeWith all it... 01/30/2009

Good neighbourliness and safety If you come back from office in the afternoon after snow strom, be ready for the snow shovelling. The City of Toronto  offers the following suggestions: Residents are expected to clear snow from the sidewalks in front of their homes. It would be nice if they could help elderly neighbours Please don't push your snow onto city streets Please don't park on the street (where possible) after a snowfall Please make sure fire hydrants are clearly visible by clearing the snow around them Use a more environmentally benign product than salt to deal with ice Shovel safely. If you have cardiac problems, don't do it at all Dress appropriately, start slow, take frequent breaks, and when possible, push the snow instead of lifting it Protect your back: bend at the knees,... 01/28/2009

Today, it snowed all the day in GTA area. I shovelled snow four times !! It was tyring but fun. Whenever its storm watch in winter to me it means no driving. No office, no showings etc. However, I find it is the best time to update contact list. And that what I did today: updating data base, writing emails and updating website. This is what happened today at 427 and Finch.     Somewhere in Toronto   01/28/2009

Will it have an impact on Real Estate ? As a result most of us are already getting affected. Its the time to market but to move ahead very carefully. We got to control our expenditures very juditiously. This is what happend in a single day. Its like one short fired and 74,000 jobs lost ! Read this story and see who are the latest in row to join the so called recession? On Monday, employers in the US and internationally announced tens of thousands of layoffs in an indication that the economic crisis is accelerating and spreading throughout the American and world economy-and far outpacing governmental measures to respond. Among the major layoffs: * Caterpillar Inc., the world leader in heavy construction equipment, announced 20,000 layoffs for the first quarter of 2009. * The drugmaker Pf... 01/28/2009

The explosive growth of the Internet and the continuing public demand for greater access to government has resulted in governments at all levels rushing to ensure their presence on the World Wide Web. The main purpose of most of the government Web sites is to communicate with constituents and distribute information on various programs and services. Governments at the federal and provincial levels, as well as most local and regional governments in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have established their own Web sites in an effort to get closer to the voters. To know  more visit: http://communications2.torontomls.net/gov_rel/websites/index.htm 01/28/2009

Should we do it our self or should we pay it to other party. Well it depends how much time we have in hand. Its a good tool and the key words v/s relevent contents are the very important for the respective pages. Depending upon the requirement, we can always cutomise it. However, all said, its not that simple and it can takes time to bring it in top 10 and to keep it there for long is another challenge. Pay per click can be the next option. Adding contents regularly to the website is next important point. If you are doing it your slef, its an endless task and consumes a lot of time thats what we must know..   01/25/2009

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada has chopped its key interest rate by another half percentage point to its lowest level ever, and warned that the Canadian economy will contract by 1.2 per cent this year. The central bank's target for the overnight lending rate now stands at 1 per cent - lower than in 1958, when the most-watched policy rate was 1.12 per cent. "The outlook for the global economy has deteriorated since the bank's December interest rate announcement, with the intensifying financial crisis spilling over into real economic activity," the bank said in its gloomiest statement yet. In separate announcements, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal responded by announcing they have cut their prime lending rates by 50 basis points to 3 per cent. BMO said it is cutting key mortgage r... 01/20/2009

Toronto Real Estate Board Members reported 2,577 sales in December 2008, compared to the 4,646 recorded during the same month in 2007, and the 4,447 recorded in December 2006, TREB President Maureen O'Neill announced today. "Sales for the whole of 2008 were 74,552, compared to the 93,193 recorded in 2007, and the 83,084 recorded during 2006." The average price in December of 2008 came in at $361,415, compared to $394,931 in 2007, and $336,217 in December of 2006. For 2008 as a whole, prices averaged $379,347, compared to the $376,236 recorded in 2007, and the $351,941 average recorded in 2006. The City of Toronto (416) recorded 1,105 sales in December, compared to 2,302 in December 2007  and 1,827 in December of 2006. For all of 2008, there were 29,878 sales, compared to 39,052 in 2007 ... 01/20/2009

Why would someone want to sell their home themselves?While hosting an Open House a few weekends ago, the Private for Sale by Owner next door, constantly compared the traffic, How many people came to see her? How many came in to see me? How many saw us both?At the end of the Open House (for me this is almost dark and last person has been gone at least 20 minutes) she met me at the end of the driveway while I was collecting my signs, to discuss the traffic of the day. She would ask if there was any sincere interest in my open house. I was honest, and I told her that I thought that I may have sold the home and there was a choice of 2 buyers. In my opinion, in this market, that is remarkable. And as an experienced agent, I knew that these buyers were truly interested. She asked which if any... 01/08/2009

No parallels with U.S. Eric Beauchesne, Canwest News Service  Published: Monday, January 05, 2009 Brett Gundlock/National PostSold signs on house in Toronto. OTTAWA - The Canadian housing market is cooling but is not facing a U.S. style meltdown, builders here say. "A few commentators have drawn a parallel between the Canadian housing situation and the extreme difficulties in the housing market in the United States," the Canadian Homebuilders say in a report Monday that dismisses such comparisons. "There is absolutely no merit in drawing such a parallel," it said in a report that contends the pace of housing construction in Canada is merely returning to a level that is consistent with underlying housing requirements following the boom of recent years. "The housing situation in Canada i... 01/07/2009

We all eventually woke up this past weekend and realized that the holiday season is behind us. Of course, different celebrations will go on throughout this new year. I was very happy to see 2008 go to rest. The last few months were a flurry of bad news and fewer opportunities for anyone. Now, with the New Year comes a clean slate and let's get going with our plans.There was an article in the Toronto Star on Saturday that was very interesting to me and my business. It related to House Inspections of brand new homes. Because I was a Buyer Agent for a lovely family in December of just such a home, I feel I could comment on this. In case you didn't read the article or if you don't get the Toronto Star, I will just point out some specifics to make this article shorter:A family was living in ... 01/06/2009

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