York Region Real Estate, Ontario

Richmond Hill homes are selling fast

2009-11-02T22:51:00.000-05:00

It has been a very busy week. It started off with a great client finding the perfect house which meant that they had to sell their current home. So we listed their home Monday night and by Thursday we had multiple offers. Things were going so fast I didn't even get a chance to blog about their home. To top it off several other clients have been looking and every time I make a list of 5 or 6 places to see, by the time I get the showings booked 2 will be sold conditionally and another is likely to have a registered offer.

There are still some very nice homes available and prices are still good, but buyers must be prepared to make quick decisions about whether a given house is the right home for them in order not to miss out.

As for sellers, this fall the real estate markets seem to be heating up as the weather cools off. So, don't worry about waiting until spring if you really want to move now. I think this year is going to beat most of the expectations from the real estate industries forcasters.

Richmond Hill Real Estate in September 2009

2009-11-02T16:06:00.001-05:00

The Greater Toronto Area real estate markets are finishing off the year with a boom. September 2009 had 8,196 homes ( both freehold and condominium) through the Toronto Real Estate Board's (TREB's) MLS® system with an average sale price of $406,877.

In the Richmond Hill MLS® districts there were 225 detached homes sold out of 403 available homes with an average sale price, for the three districts, of $627,700. This is a huge jump up from last years 126 homes sold in the Richmond Hill districts and a mere 6,424 homes sold in the GTA in 2008.

Now is a great time to buy or sell a home in Richmond Hill, Aurora or anywhere in the Greater Toronto Area.

Toronto Real Estate Market Recap for 2009

2009-09-18T11:32:00.005-04:00

First A quick update on this years Toronto and GTA real estate markets. Most of us recognized that 2009 started off as a very slow year. Buyer's were nervous and their savings had been decimated or worse. But the real estate market started to bounce back in March. The Total number of home sales on the Toronto Real Estate Board's MLS® system in March, April and May 2009 were only slightly lower than the 2008 numbers, before the markets started to slow down.

Real estate was far hotter, this summer, than the weather. June 2009 set an all time record for most homes sold, in the month of June, with 10,955 home sold. July was only just short of 10,000 home and August put in a very respectable 8,035 home sales. This compared with 2007 is only 24 less than the number of homes sold, in the Greater Toronto Area, for August and the average sale price was up over $26,000 from August 2007 to August 2009 at $387,921.

This year there have been more sales in the first 8 months that in the same month for 2008 despite the sluggish start. September is shaping up to be another good month for home sales with over 3,300 sales in the first half with an average sale price of $393,818.

This is proof that the Toronto area real estate markets have weathered the global downturn and that there never was a bubble in our prices. What we experienced last fall and winter was due to people being nervous about the economy, mainly the American economy, and the possible outcomes of the US election. Now that confidence is rising we are well placed to home values rise again at a reasonable level.

The Sky is Falling

2008-10-29T22:58:00.004-04:00

The Doom and Gloom predictors are at large these days, telling everyone that real estate prices in the Greater Toronto Area are going to drop. And they may, however any price decrease should be minimal and short lived. The one thing that is going against the real estate markets in the Toronto area, including Richmond Hill, Aurora and all of York Region, is low consumer confidence. Unfortunately this low consumer confidence issue is mostly unsubstantiated. Yes the stock market has had a major correction and the DOW Jones looks like an EKG chart but most of the economic factors that support a strong real estate market are still here.

One of the biggest misconceptions currently going around is that the real estate markets have slowed down to the point of being a strong buyer's market. It is true that the number of sales in 2008 are lower that 2007 and even a little off of 2006 numbers. However, historically speaking the sales volume is still very high. A great analogy for our market sales was given at the Toronto Real Estate Board's annual general meeting on Monday Oct 27th. It was that the 2007 real estate sales were like driving on the 401 at 150 clicks (obviously not during rush hour) and now we have slowed down to 120 Kph. We are still moving very fast but it seems slow compared to what we were going. As it is the Toronto area real estate markets are still aiming for about 80,000 sales in 2008 which is a volume that was only reached starting in 2004, so historically still very high.

They also talk about rising inventory levels. However the inventory levels in the Toronto real estate markets is still under 4 months supply. This means that if no new homes are put on the market and sales remained the same it would only take 4 months to run out of available homes. This is well within the range that indicates a balanced market not a buyer's market. So unlike some areas in the U.S.A where there are as many as 12 months supply, we are far from over stocked in homes. We may not see huge increases in price this year but if people don't panic then we also should not see major price reductions, except on homes that are over priced to start with.

Other factors to consider are mortgage rates which are still very low, and unlike some areas of the U.S.A. mortgages are still readily available here in Canada. Speaking of mortgages, our banking systems are much different here in Canada when compared to the U.S.A. and as a result are in a much stronger position than their counterparts south of the boarder.

Also consider that unemployment is still very low, and the rate of foreclosure is only about 0.25% according to CMHC as compared to 1992 when it was close to 6% and currently in the States where foreclosure rates are close to 20%. It is believed that the number of speculative buyers is significantly lower than back in 1989 so that should not be a huge flood of homes on the market especially since our rental markets are still very strong. We also still have a large volume of new immigrants into the Toronto areas, creating demand for homes both in the rental and purchasing sectors.

All in all our economy is healthy but it is being rattled around by uncertainty. Now is actually a great time to buy a home as it is a much better investment that the current stock market, unless you can correctly guess which way it will move today, and because some sellers and their agents are buying into the hysteria and looking at and even accepting offers that are lower than would have been the norm a few years ago. It is also expected that our economy will start growing again as early as 2010 so buy now and for the long run (5+years ) and you should see a good return on your investment especially over renting.

For real estate help in Richmond Hill, Aurora, York Region and Toronto please visit my website or call me at 416-278-2335 and start finding the right home for you.

Provincial Land Transfer Tax Refund Extended

2007-12-17T10:06:00.000-05:00

The Province of Ontario has just announced that it is extending the land transfer tax refund for first time buyers of newly constructed homes to now include resale homes. This means that first time home buyers can now save up to $2,000 on a resale home purchase. The legislation for this rebate has not yet been passed, but any first time home buyer that enters into an "agreement to purchase and sale" on or after December 13th, 2007 is entitled to a rebate of up to $2,000 once the legislation is passed.

The City of Toronto has also up dated their new land transfer tax so that first time home buyers should not have to pay the land transfer tax on the first $400,000 of their home purchase at all. Previously any first time home buyer who is buying a home that is priced over $400,000 had to pay the full tax up front and then get a rebate for the tax paid on the first $400,000. Under their new system, which they hope to have in place before Feb 1st 2008 when the tax starts, first time home buyers will be able to pay only the tax owing on the balance of the purchase price minus $400,000.

Toronto Area Mortgages

2007-11-10T13:37:00.000-05:00

Well I did it! I took the plunge and took my business and added to it to make a more seamless service to help my clients get better results, quicker and more efficiently. I have now added mortgages to my real estate service by becoming a Mortgage Agent with Mortgage One Solutions Ltd. a member of The Mortgage Centre.

Now you can get a great wholesale mortgage rate with terms that best meet your needs. Get your pre-approved mortgage quickly and easily. Best of all, I work for you not the banks, top that off with the fact that my main purpose is to help you buy a home, or sell your home by providing mortgage approvals to qualified buyers; so I am not concerned about finder's fees and I will concentrate on just getting you the best mortgage for your needs.

Looking to renew, refinance or consolidate debts? I can help you with that with the same emphasys on exceptional service and great mortgage products.

I protact your record by only pulling your credit once when I shop your mortgage application to over 40 lenders for the best rates. Including most of the big banks, although some of them only deal with mortgage brokers through subsiduary businesses, I can often get you the same or better rate that you can get at the banks. Another benefit is that I don't just let you fill in the blanks and press submit. I work with you and your situation to get you mortgage approved and if there are issues that are blocking your application, like outstanding debts, I will go through your report with you and help you to get your credit record back on track.

Happy house hunting!

Toronto and York Region Real Estate Markets Update

2007-11-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

2007's real estate markets seem to be unstoppable. Once again October sets a new Toronto MLS® record for the number of homes sold smashing the previous October record (Oct 2003) by 10% and sending the total home sales, for 2007, over 81,500 homes sold. That is just 1,500 short of the final number of homes sold in 2006 with two months to go, in which we would usually expect to see about 10,000 sales more. On top of that the sales volume in Toronto are expected to be extra high in November and December as home buyers are trying to avoid the new municipal land transfer tax which comes into effect on homes purchased after January 1st, 2008 and closing after February 1st, 2008.

The average purchase price for a home on the Toronto MLS® system in October, 2007, was $394,646 up from last October's $356,423.

In Richmond Hill's 3 MLS® districts (N03,N04 and N05) there were 396 homes sold with the majority (211 homes) in the South end (N03) with a high number of Condominiums and an average sale price of $408,291 where as in the North end (N05, Oak Ridges down to Gamble Rd.) the there were only 68 homes sold, mostly detached home, with an average sale price of $491,850.

Toronto home's averaged $522,800 for the 1,602 homes that sold in October. That said there are still areas where you can get a detached home for under $400,000.

Real estate markets in the Toronto area and York Region are still very strong and it is still expected to continue being strong with stead price increases for the next few years. Making now a great time to buy or move if you haven't already.

If you would like more information feel free to contact me or fill out a "home search request" or " Home Evaluation request" on my website www.AndrewHodgeREALTOR.com

Talk to you soon.

Richmond Hill Parks - Richmond Green

2007-08-19T23:50:00.002-04:00

This is the start of a series of reviews, pictures and comments on the parks of Richmond Hill.

Richmond Green is located at Leslie and Elgin Mills right next to Richmond Green High School and the Richmond Green library. It has a skate park, water park,, skating arena, soccer fields, walking paths, sand and play area and an eco-educational garden area. Richmond Green is often used by the residents of Bayview North and Bayview Hills, in Richmond Hill, and by the the City of Richmond Hill for events like the Canada Day fireworks show (always fun but traffic is heavy so come early and prepare to have to deal with traffic when you are leaving).

For information on Richmond Hill real estate or to find your perfect Richmond Hill home please visit my website and request a Richmond Hill Home search or a free Richmond Hill home evaluation.

Toronto Real Estate Market - Mid August sales

2007-08-19T15:16:00.000-04:00

Toronto Home Sales in August are well above expected numbers in terms of volume. As of August 17th there were 3,838 homes sold, up 17% from Aug 2006, and the average sale price across the Toronto MLS® system was $355,829.

So it looks like the summer market is doing very well with the lower priced home and condo sales. I, for one, am looking forward to see how the upper priced home sale come back in September.

York Region Real Estate market statistics - July 2007

2007-08-06T23:45:00.000-04:00

York Region's real estate markets were hot in July 2007 as were all of the Northern districts on the Toronto MLS® system. Sales this year were up 27.7% with 1,797 homes sold compared to 1,407 homes sold in July 2007. The year to date home sales numbers are also up 16.3% to 12,232 homes sold in York Region, the Uxbridge area of Durham and parts of Simcoe County.

Over all average sold prices increased by 5% from $373,573 to $392,360 in July 2007. There were some very active markets in York Region including the 3 Richmond Hill Ontario real estate districts (N03, N04 and N05), Aurora (N06) and Vaughan (N08).

In Richmond Hill there was an increase of 47.1% in the total number of homes sold, going from 291 (July 2006) to 428 (July 2007) homes. Most of this increase was in the South end in the N03 and N04 districts. Richmond Hill seems to have been hit by the summer market effect resulting from higher price range buyers going on vacation. The result was a decrease in the average sold price but an increase in the median home sold price where they were very close to one another. The largest effect was in the detached home market where, in the N03 district, the average home price dropped from $601,645 to $556,140 while the median home sold price increased from $537,000 to $557,750, not that that is chump change or anything but there were definitely fewer million plus dollar homes sold in July 2007.

Aurora Ontario's real estate market saw an increase in home sales of 26.3% from 57 to 72 and an increase in average sale price from $392,658 (July 2006) to $454,512 (July 2007).

In the N08 district (Vaughan) and the N11 district (Markham) both saw increases in sales volume between 27% and 30%.

Happy house hunting.

Toronto Real Estate Market Statistics - July 2007

2007-08-06T23:01:00.000-04:00

Toronto's real estate markets keep motoring along. In July 2007 there were 1,590 homes sold in the central districts on the Toronto MLS® system. This would account for the down town core and everything between Dufferin and Victoria Park, South of Steeles, with the DVP as the eastern boundary south of Eglinton Ave. That is an increase of 24.3% over last year's 1,279 Toronto homes sold.

The average sold price in the Toronto Central districts was $470,464 up 9.9% from July 2006's $428,031 and the median home sale prices in central Toronto raised from last years $313,200 to $334,500. The one thing that Toronto still has is variety. The average home sold prices vary widely from district to district. The lowest average sold price was $329,339 in the C8 district which is predominantly condominiums. Where as the highest average home sold price was in the C12 district with and average home sale price of $1,442,216.

So far, in 2007, there have been 10,591 homes sold in the central Toronto real estate markets which is up 12% from last years 9,450. Even with the potential new land transfer tax, that may get the go ahead if the City or Toronto does not figure another way to fix their budget issues, the real estate markets are booming with a sales to active listings ratio of 64.7% in July 2007 for the central Toronto districts.

It is still a great time to buy or sell Toronto real estate. Please let me know if you are looking for Toronto, Ontario, homes for sale or if you want to sell you Toronto home or condo fast.

Toronto Real Estate Home Inspectors - How to Choose One

2007-07-31T14:22:00.000-04:00

The home inspection industry is currently not a regulated industry, which means that anyone can call themselves a home inspector and charge a fee to look at homes and give you a report or opinion on the condition of the home. So until the home inspection industry gets its own version of REBBA making it illegal to charge a fee for a home inspection related service, without first being registered and insured, how do you choose the right home inspector?

I think we would all recognize that this picture would be of someone you would not like to have inspecting your home, yet home inspectors are rarely this obviously unqualified. So, always make sure that they are a member of the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (CAHPI) and in Ontario, Canada, they should also belong to the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI). These two organizations have their own rules, regulations, ethics codes and training qualifications that must be met in order to remain a member.

Make sure that they have errors and omission insurance that is up to date and paid for, just in case they do miss something that should have been detected. I believe that Insurance coverage is a requirement for both of the above organizations, however it is best to ask and even to see an insurance policy "slip" stating that the insurance coverage is valid and active.

In Ontario, Canada, all REALTORS® must advise their clients that a home inspection is recommended service. Most will even give you a few names to choose from. You should call at least 2-3 home inspectors and interview them to find out what they do and how much they charge. Some may provide extra services for a premium or use specialized equipment that goes beyond a basic home inspection. You can expect to pay close to $400 for a home inspection on a home up to 2,500sq ft if it is not too old. Older homes may cost more as they often need to be home thoroughly inspected and my have crawl spaces and awkward spaces that the home inspector needs to get into to inspect the home. Larger homes will often cost more as there is more home to inspect and it will take longer and may even involve multiple heating and ventilation systems or other home systems that are included in the inspection.

As Part of my York Region real estate service I have several home inspectors that I recommend to my clients based on how thorough they are. They do not work for me, so they are responsible to my clients to provide the information that they need even if it means the client does not want to close on that home because of it. I would rather we all know that a home is in poor condition and move on to finding a home that is good than to have an unhappy client in the future when the problems become more obvious.

Genworth Housing Outlook - Summer 2007

2007-07-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

Genworth Financial has published there summer 2007 "Housing Outlook" that provides insightful analysis of the Canadian real estate markets (nationally, provincially, and for major cities) as well as provides their predictions for the next few years.

The "Housing Outlook", according to Genworth Financial, look strong for the next few years with stead growth in home values as well as sales volumes (with a slight exception of new home sales in 2007). They sight economic factors like the strength of the Canadian Dollar and the growing GDP, personal incomes, and a variety of other national and regional factors in support of these views.

The price increases that they are predicting are higher than I was expecting, so if you are currently renting it would be a good idea to find out if you can afford a home and buy now before you are priced out of the market. a 0% down mortgage may have an insurance premium but it is, most often, worth it if you plan to live in the home for a few years, especially if the prices increase as Genworth predicts.

I am posting a copy of the Toronto Housing Outlook on my Toronto real estate "Market Watch" page for anyone to request. You do need to provide a valid email address as that is how it will be sent to you. Your privacy is assured and I will not send you endless spam or sell, give or otherwise disseminate your information to anyone except where required by the laws covering Ontario.

Currently renting? Do you want to know if you can afford a home? Call me at 416-278-2335 and we will find out with the help of one of my great mortgage professional. No obligations and credit issues may not be as big an issue as you thought, if you have credit issues.

Toronto Real Estate Market Update - preliminary

2007-07-30T09:51:00.000-04:00

Real estate markets in the Toronto area has far surpassed expectations in the first half of the year with just over 50,000 sales posted in the months of January to June. Going into July the activity seems to have decreased some what. This is to be expected slightly as many people flee the city for vacations to cottages or other more exotic locals, in order to escape the everyday life of a 9 to 5er's (or what ever hours one calls a work day).

This tends to have the biggest effect on the higher priced homes as the people most able to afford them are also the people who are most able to afford a cottage where they would rather be, rather than shuffling from house to house looking for the one that is significantly better than their current home, at a reasonable price.

The unadjusted sales numbers for July, (1st to 9:30am July 30th) is 8643 homes that were sold firm. This number is likely to be higher than the official numbers, posted by the Toronto Real Estate Board in the end of the first week of August, as they may contain some duplicate listings or land listings that were improperly categorized on the MLS® system. (sorry I do not have the access to perform those types of filters). This represents an increase of 22% over July 2006's 7082 homes sold through the Toronto MLS® system.

The Toronto real estate sales volume for homes in June was 10,451 which means that July's sales are 17.3% less than in June. This may seem like a lot, but in 2006 the decrease was 18.9% and at the time we were calling it a very strong sales month.

It looks like we could be expecting close to, if not over 90,000 sales by the end of the year with steady price increases of as much as 5% over the previous year.

I will update you when the official numbers are posted.

New Toronto Real Estate Tax delayed

2007-07-17T16:54:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the efforts of the Toronto Real Estate Board and the general public, that lobbied the municipal government, the City of Toronto land transfer tax has been postponed until after the provincial election in October. There was a narrow win of 23 votes to 22 in favour of postponing a decission on this proposed tax.

Now we will all have to lobby the Ontario government to try and convince them that Toronto needs some financial help to keep it afloat, in order to avoid the real estate tax being passed shortly after the election is held.

Real estate in Toronto has remained a very hot market, however an increase in land transfer taxes would have a heavy effect on home values in the City of Toronto. That said anyone living just outside of the Toronto city boundaries might see a marked increase in their home's values.

Rules Changed for Mortgage Insurance

2007-05-27T07:56:00.000-04:00

A quick update for anyone who missed the announcement. The Government of Canada has passed Bill C37 which changes the minimum loan to value amounts for conventional mortgages.

What does this mean to you? In the past if you were borrowing more than 75% of the purchase price, or value of the property, you had to get CMHC or Genworth mortgage insurance. Now that Loan to Value amount has changed so that there is no need for high ratio mortgage insurance if you are borrowing less than 80% of the homes value. This move will save you a large chunk of change (over a thousand dollars) if you can come up with a 20% downpayment. For those that had been saving up to have a 25% downpayment and avoid the insurance premium, you can now put 20% down on a larger or better home, or spend the extra 5% on furniture, upgrades or savings.

Real Estate Market Update April 2007

2007-05-27T07:17:00.000-04:00

Busy! That pretty much sums up the current greater Toronto Real Estate markets and why I have not posted in too long. February and March had very strong sale, just lower that Feb. and Mar. 2006, but April 2007 blew past April 2006's 8361 sales. With 9452 sales in April 2007 this sets a new record for April sales in the GTA real estate markets.

Even Oak Ridges, which I have mentioned was at risk of having an over supply of homes, sold about 30% of the listed homes in April 2007. The MLS® districts for Richmond Hill and Aurora sold between 30% and 40% of the available homes in April 2007. Newmarket sold 45% of its housing supply and Markham's N11 district sold almost 50% of the available homes with 298 out of 611 homes being sold in April 2007.

Average sales prices were also up in April 2007. Continuing low mortgage rates and the strong economy are still setting the stage for exceptional volumes of sales in the resale housing markets. Even with a slight increase in recent 5 year rates, we are seeing that homes that are priced correctly, and have had a reasonable amount of "staging", are selling fast.

The mid May sales volume is also on route for a new record high for May. With just over 5000 sales in the first 15 days of May 2007, home buyers are telling us that there is still a very strong resale demand.

If you are looking to move in the near future and do not want to waste time and energy, and want to find your perfect home as quickly as possible, call me at 416-278-2335 (direct line) and set up an appointment with myself or one of my associates. I look forward to providing you with fast, professional service focused on your needs.

Backing out of a real estate deal - Q & A

2007-04-18T06:57:00.000-04:00

The question

If you could clarify something for me it would be much appreciated. We sold
our property late last year and are due to close next week, the buyer is
starting to ask for extensions etc... the buyer put down a large deposit now my
question is this: if the transaction is NOT completed by the Purchaser who gets
the deposit? I was told the Realtor takes what would have been their "potential"
commission out of the sale and the remainder would be dispersed to us it this
correct?

was posed by Anonymous on my original post "Backing out of a real estate deal ?". This is a commonly asked questions and the answer is not as cut and dry as I would like.

In Ontario, Canada, the basic answer is that the deposit stays in the trust account until the buyer and the seller can come to an agreement on how it is to be dispersed, or until there is a court order stating how it will be dispersed. In most cases the funds are given to the party that still wants to close the sale, in this question that would be the seller, however it is not guaranteed.

So if the buyer backs our of the real estate deal they have two options. They can sign a mutual release noting that all or part of deposit is to be dispersed to the seller. Or they can let it go to court and have the courts decide how it will be released. In the first case the seller has to agree but the seller may be giving up any rights to further actions against the buyer should they not be able to sell the home without incurring a loss (relative to the original agreement). Going through the courts though will take more time and lawyer fees but may end up with the seller (in this case) getting more money or compensation.

Always consult your lawyer before signing anything regarding a non-mutually agreeable disposition of the trust funds. ie if you are less that comfortable with what you are being asked to sign or the outcome will be anything that is less than your preferred outcome, talk to a lawyer.

As for the agents, the they only get paid if the sale closes or if their client is the party that is backing out and the other party still wants to close. So in the case above the seller's agent would not be paid but the Buyer's agent could bill the buyer for the commission that they would have earned had the buyer not breached the purchase agreement (pending any adjustments in the listing or purchase agreement, which does not happen often). REALTORS® get paid for results, unless you are using a flat fee service that is paid up front, and the only result that counts is the final sale and closing.

As a seller, if the buyer backs out, it would be nice to compensate your agent for the hard work, frustration and disappointment involved with a sale going sour. However, there is nothing in the standard forms that give the agent any claim to compensation so long as the sale does not close as a result of the other party. If both parties decide not to close and agree to a mutual release then non of the agents get paid.

Kept in the Link

2007-03-27T21:12:00.000-04:00

In any real estate purchase or sale one might think that it would be obvious that every person involved needs to be informed about what the steps are and who is involved. This means that the REALTORS®, the lawyers, the lender(s) and the buyer and seller all need to know about each other. Well the lenders really only need to be known by the party they servicing and the lawyers but the agents would be interested in knowing so that they can provide any needed information.

However, everyone needs to clearly know who the lawyers are. In Ontario, Canada, we do not have escrow services per say but everyone, or at least those that know enough to want to avoid problems, uses a lawyer to handle the closing procedures on both purchases and sales of any property. So I find it odd to have another case where a seller or purchaser has changed their lawyer without telling anyone.

I received a call from my client's lawyer the other day to inform me that the lawyer, that we had all been told was working for the other party, was not working for the other party. Luckily the closing on this home is a month away still, but this is the type of situation where problems occur.

In this situation everything is working out fine. I must stress again though, whether you are my client or not, if there are any changes that you make to the team of players that you have on your side of the transaction make sure that the other side is kept up to date on who is involved. A quick call to your agent to tell them to inform the other agent, or parties, is all that is required and it will save you a lot of grief. Do not rely on your new lawyer to introduce themselves to the other lawyer because it seems that they do not call them until they need something. Which is often too late if there are issues that need to be cleared up.

Toronto's new land tax grab

2007-03-24T21:46:00.000-04:00

Toronto is proposing it's own land transfer tax on all properties sold in Toronto. This is on top of the existing Land Transfer Tax that is levied by the Ontario government. Under the powers that were recently given to the City of Toronto, under the new City of Toronto Act, you could be required to pay an additional 0.5% of the purchase price in the form of a land transfer tax if you purchase a home in the boundaries of the City of Toronto.

This means that the average home (approx. $380,000 in Toronto for 2006) will cost an extra $1,900 that can not be put into the mortgage, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. However, the average sale price for a home in February, in the central districts on the Toronto MLS® system, was $504,381 which would mean an extra tax of $2,521.91.

So how is this likely to effect your home's value? It could undermine the Toronto real estate markets. If you are in the upper end of homes the effects may not be initially visible, although it will make homes outside of the Toronto boundaries a lot more attractive. However, if your home is best suited for a first time home buyer then this will hit your bottom line.

A large number of first time home buyers are purchasing their home with only 5% down and a 95% mortgage. Even with this amount of leveraging they are often pressed to make the 5% and all of their closing costs. Some buyers are even getting 100% mortgages. If the buyer for your home (asking $300,000) has to take $1,500 out of their down payment to cover extra closing costs this will decrease their buying power by $30,000 (if $1,500 = 5% then 100% =$30,000). Since this will effect all homes and all buyers this is likely to decrease the value of your home by 10%.

You will also see fewer home sales as people who are using the 100% mortgage programs will have to wait longer to save up their closing costs. This could see a trend to have the seller paying for the buyer's closing costs, like you see in the USA sometimes, however that may be seen as a form of mortgage fraud depending on how you interpret the payment.

This effect on lower cost housing may dramatically effect the second home and luxury home markets. As people may need to stay in their "first step" home longer in order to save up the equity to pay for the extra closing costs. Which could take a long time if their property value drops 10% due to the introduction of this transfer tax. This could lead to a higher percentage of 95% mortgages on second home which could cause the prices in those markets to also fall by as much as 10%.

The bottom line is that a simple 0.5% land transfer tax will undermine the affordability of homes in Toronto, which is already one of the highest priced cities in Canada. Property values will get undermined, along with affordability, causing your property to lose value, which will decrease the number of sales in the Toronto area.

Studies have shown that every resale home causes around $27,000 in spin off spending. This would be for anything from new appliances to renovations. All of which generates taxes as well as boosting the economy. If the number of home sales decreases because of a newly created tax then the Toronto economy will be effected as well as the taxes that are generated through those purchases.

So what can you do? Send an email to Mayor Miller, here, to let him know that you do not approve of this tax. Also, contact your local councilors and let them know. You can find your councilor's contact information at the City’s Councillors web page.

Richmond Hill Home Sales Statistics - February 2007

2007-03-11T12:09:00.000-04:00

Richmond Hill home sales in February 2007 accounted for 307 homes out of 6,772 homes sold on the Toronto MLS® system.. This make Feb 2007 the second best February ever recorded, in terms of sales volume, for the Toronto MLS® system. For Richmond Hill’s three MLS® districts there were strong sales numbers with 170 homes sold in the South end or Richmond Hill (N03 district), 80 homes sold in the N04 district and 57 houses sold in the Oak Ridge’s area or N05 district.

Here is the quick breakdown of the numbers for each district:

All Home sales in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.

	sales	Average Sale price	Median Sale Price
N03	170	$425,375	$382,000
N04	80	$397,712	$391,250
N05	57	$451,554	$445,000

Detached homes in Richmond Hill

	Homes sold	Average sale price	Median Sale Price
N03	74	$602,057	$585,000
N04	52	$449,894	$455,000
N05	38	$504,068	$477,750

Semi-Detached homes in Richmond Hill

	Homes sold	Average sale price	Median Sale Price
N03	8	$393,363	$399,400
N04	9	$299,788	$278,500
N05	4	$336,500	$337,500

Condo Apartments in Richmond Hill

	Homes sold	Average sale price	Median Sale Price
N03	45	$220,623	$220,000
N04	5	$174,700	$171,000
N05	0	N/A	N/A

Condominium townhouses in Richmond Hill

	Homes sold	Average sale price	Median Sale Price
N03	12	$266,787	$267,944
N04	2	$322,250	$322,250
N05	0	N/A	N/A

Townhouses in Richmond Hill

	Homes sold	Average sale price	Median Sale Price
N03	29	$373,593	$366,000
N04	12	$350,542	$346,500
N05	11	$332,273	$331,000

The housing markets in Richmond Hill are still very strong and there are a lot of home buyers currently looking. For most home types the number of home sold in February relative to the number of active listings. In some areas this is adding extra competition for buyers. The one area that this is not happening is in the detached homes of the N05 district. In this area there were 213 active listings and only 38 sales.

This is most likely a reaction to homes in this area being listed higher that one can realistically sell the home. For this reason I expect a series of price reductions in the detached homes in the N05 district. This is making the assumption that a good portion of these listings are motivated to sell their home. This assumption is based on the fact that there are quite a few homes listed in areas Macleod's Landing and Tribute's Inspiration which are brand new homes and likely owned by speculators or people who's needs have changed dramatically enough to be worth thinking about moving.

Looking to find Richmond Hill homes for sale? Save time and frustration by working with me to search and negotiate a great price on your perfect home.

Have a home in Richmond Hill or the surrounding area? Find out what your Richmond Hill home’s value is with a free market evaluation.

I respect your privacy and your contact information will never be given or sold to any person or organization outside of Andrew Hodge (me) and Right At Home Realty Inc., for any reason, without your expressed permission in writing. (except when required by Canadian law)

All statistics and values posted here are for Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. If you want more information on real estate in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada please feel free to contact me through any of my websites or call me at 416-278-2335 (my direct line).

Richmond Hill Homes for Sale - Macleod's Landing, March 3rd

2007-03-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

Macleod's Landing, in Richmond Hill (Ontario, Canada) is located south of King Road, North of Jefferson Sideroad, East of Yonge Street and West of Bathurst. It is divided into three sections, North East corner of Yonge and Jefferson Sdrd, and extension of the Kings Hill development off of Bathurst and South of Augustine Ave and the yet to be built North West corner of Jefferson and Bathurst. This is in the Oak Ridges area of Richmond Hill and is in the N05 MLS® district on the Toronto MLS® system.

In between the three areas of residential homes, in the Macleod's Landing, you will find a large conservation area with trails connecting all three areas. There is also a golf course (Bathurst Glen) which is now the property of the town of Town of Richmond Hill and offers very reasonable prices for greens fees and its driving range. This land is zoned as "Linkage land" and will not be built on, so long as the governing bodies continue to value the environment and Oak Ridges conservation laws and the Greenbelt laws are in effect. Even the Golf course can only be changed to park or conservation land and if it is, it cannot be changed back under current laws.

Within the Macleod's Landing linkage lands there are several small lakes, forested areas and fields where wild life is health and active.

Currently there are 38 homes on the real estate markets. Six of these are rental properties ranging in price from $1,680 to $3,500 per month. Nine of the 38 homes are townhouses priced between $319,900 and $389,000. The remaining 23 homes for sale are detached homes priced between $399,900 and $788,000.

These homes are not limited to my listings so I can not provide you with specifics about the properties in a general posting like this, as that would be against several of the advertising laws and regulations for the real estate industry in Ontario.

If you would like to know more about Macleod's Landing or the homes that are available, you can call me on my direct line at 416-278-2335 or request listings for Richmond Hill Homes for sale on my website and note that you are interested in the Macleod's Landing area in the "Wish List". I will call to confirm your request before sending listings so please provide a valid email address (to send you the listings) and an active phone number where you can be reached.

You can get information for other areas at the same location if you are interested in looking at homes in those neighbourhood. Just let me know where you want to be and I will help you find the right home.

My simple Privacy policy is: Your contact information is never given/sold to any person/organization for any reason without your expressed consent in writing (outside of my support staff and within legal limits of the local laws, and the information is only used to help you with your real estate goals).

York Region Real Estate and home sales statistics

2007-02-06T21:56:00.000-05:00

The Toronto Real Estate Board has published the Market Watch issue for January 2007. Claiming that the year has started with a boom. Over the all of the districts for the Toronto MLS® system there were more sales than in any other recorded January, with a total 5,173 homes sold. This is an increase of 12.8% over last years January. The North districts had an increase of over all sales but there were a few surprises when looking at individual areas.

On a positive note, Richmond Hill home sales saw an increase in sales volume and in the N03 district the average home sale price surged forward 17.7%, over Jan 2006, to $426,800. On the other hand Aurora, Ontario, home sales volumes stayed almost the same and the average sale price decreased by 12.8% from Jan 2006.

But wait, Don't PANIC. These are both examples of why statistics are dangerous. Although it is true that the average sale price in Aurora, Ontario, was down by a whopping 12.8% that does not mean that the average home has lost 12.8% of its value. It only means that the home buyers that were active enough to purchase homes, in January 2007, were looking for homes that were (on average) 12.8% lower in price than those looking in 2006. So more homes in lower price ranges sold and fewer of the higher priced homes sold. In February we may see far more of the $600,000 plus homes sell and the average sale price could jump to $500,000 or more. All because the home buyers in that price range may be chaffing at not having found the right home in January and so those sales may tip the scale in the opposite direction. Either way the value of the average home is not nearly as volatile as the average home sale price.

"Lies, damn lies and statistics" I can never remember which famous person said it but it is still true. I will keep providing them because everyone always wants to know, that and I need to analyse them for myself and my clients anyways, but one always has to keep in mind that although the statistics do not lie, the perspective that one uses the statistic may not always reveal the truth.

If you have questions about the Richmond Hill, Aurora or York Region real estate markets please feel free to ask me. I would love to help you with all of your real estate experiences.

Andrew Hodge

Ontario Tenancy Law Changed

2007-02-06T20:08:00.000-05:00

The Tenant Protection Act is no longer the act that governs residential rental agreement in Ontario, Canada. It has now been replaced with the Residential Tenancies Act with a few significant changes.

First, in the old act tenants were entitled to 6% interest on there last months rent per year payable each year. Now the interest has been reduced to the same as the consumer price index which will also be used in determining the rent increase amounts that landlords can charge yearly. This will, within reason , make a last months rent always equal the last months rent no matter how long you stay in the unit.

Landlords will now be allowed to inspect the unit for maintenance problems with 24 hours and the process for evicting tenants that have damaged their rental property ( either themselves or their guests) have been made easier. So be kind to your rental unit.

The Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal has been given a new name and there are supposed to be improvements to the process of dealing with issues between landlords and tenants. This new entity is called the Landlord and Tenant Board.

If you are, or want to be, a landlord or tenant you should read the new act and know your rights. Get your copy at http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_06r17_e.htm its free and updated online if there are any amendments. Or at http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_26923_1.html

If you are looking to buy or sell your home or investment property call me or contact me through my website at www.YourAreaHomeTeam.ca

Terminating a customer service agreement

2007-02-04T07:02:00.000-05:00

To the person who visited this site from Google with the term "Toronto terminating REALTOR customer service agreement"- In order to terminate a "customer service agreement" you need to do nothing. A customer service agreement is a disclosure form that formalizes and clarifies that the REALTOR®, that you are using, is NOT working for you. Instead they are providing customer service which includes fair and honest treatment, factual information about the property that is not visibly evident (latent defects) and answers that have properly thought about before responding to them (they have to answer any questions about the condition of the property, as you ask them).

With a customer service agreement you are "unrepresented" and in a "buyer beware" situation. If you walk into an open house and want to buy that house using the listing agent then this is the relationship that the REALTOR® should be working towards unless you request representation and the seller agrees to allowing their agent to enter into a dual representation situation (or you get representation from another REALTOR® at a different brokerage).

Buyer Representation Agreements on the other hand state that the REALTOR® is working for you and that you are bound to that REALTOR® for the term of the agreement with a holdover period. In this case you receive fiduciary duties, from the REALTOR® and all of the agents at the brokerage that they work for, that protects your information and interests. Unless you have an agreement from the REALTOR® that you may terminate your agreement then you are bound to the terms of the agreement until the agreements term has passed. If you do not like the agent you are using you can ask to terminate the agreement or to have it transferred to another REALTOR®, but there is no obligation on the REALTOR® to do so unless they have not followed the terms of the contract.

Both of these "agreements" are designed with the purpose of protecting and informing the purchaser of their rights and obligations. Part of protecting you, for a REALTOR®, is protecting your personal information which can only be done if you are not giving that information to other REALTORS® and sellers in the area. With the representation agreement there is usually a guaranteed minimum commission for the agent stated so that the agent will be compensated for the work they do, if you decide to buy a home in the term of the agreement. However, there is nothing in the Buyer Representation Agreement that states that you have to buy anything. It only states that if you buy a home that you will use this particular brokerage and that they will be compensated for the service provided.

So please remember a "customer service agreement" means "Buyer Beware".

Have questions call me, post your question as a comment in any of my blogs postings (I will answer it with a new post) or you can contact me through any of my websites including www.AndrewHodgeREALTOR.com

Happy House Hunting

Andrew Hodge