Elli's Blog: All Categories

A report focusing on the Canadian real estate market situation of 2008 and the 1st half of 2009 was recently brought by The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. It is focused mainly on the housing starts and the issue of affordability to rent and own.

The report shows that after the shock of last year, now our real estate market is recovering again, however slowly. If we compare the new home sales figures for the first six months of the year , we can see that the 2009 numbers were 43% lower than in 2008. But in July 2009, the MLS sales were already even better than last year - specifically by 17%.

The general movement on the real estate market is growth now, and this goes also for the new housing price index. The average price in Canada has moved…

Obtaining your dream house is quite tough process. You won the financial battle, you can offer better deal than your oponent and the house s yours. What's next?

UTILITIES

The solicitor will send letters to all the concerned municipal or regional utility departments, in order to verify there are no arrears or outstanding charges for gas, water or hydro expenses. The utility departments will also be informed if the equipment on the property is rented or owned, and also about the scheduled closing date, the name of the new owner and the seller's solicitor. In these letters, it is also important to request details regarding the type of billing and if the billing is metered.

TAXES

Your solicitor will ask for a Tax Certificate to verify the current…

One of the key attributes of any large city, therefore Toronto as well, is its transportation system. Population explosion in the last four decades, multiplying almost five times since 1970, has been the main reason why our transportation system is no longer able to satisfy the demands. Only temporary solutions have been provided by a number of minor improvements in the past. Eventually, a project called The Big Move will completely change the face of the transportation of south Ontario in next years.

The key branch of this overall transit plan is called MoveOntario2020. Announced in June 2007, it is now broadly expected by public (and we can just guess how much this contributed to liberals’ reelection in October). $17.5 billion is the total budget set…

The real estate bubble in the USA exploded about two years ago. As a result, people participating in the real estate market in Canada came up with a demand: "How will the circumstances in Toronto be developing from now on?"

There were two basic motives for this uncertainty. First, Canadian real estate market, as our whole economy, has powerful attachment to the situation in the USA. The second reason is originating from the progress of the property market in Canada between the years 2006 and especially 2007. The situation indicated a likelihood for a similar bubble to develop here. Now let's look at the situation almost twelve months later.

The way how things were developing between 2008 and 2009 didn't really appear too good, which only reinforced…

As a Toronto broker I have to meet number of people day by day, in various houses, homes and places. The contact is usually very close, face to face... I have to attend meetings and conferences, I have to spend lot of time in airconditioned places, in airplanes, subway...Protection against swine flu is important. I guess some of you have considered wearing a surgeon mask, although you may feel a bit strange dealing with people in such "outfit". However, it's more than possible ordinary mask has no effect as a flu protection.

Thankfully, the swine flu isn't spread that badly so far - at the moment there's 8,883 cases, of which 36 ended sadly. In Ontario it is 3,464 cases with 12 related deaths. So the question is why is the WHO so concerned with this type…

Competitve market (for buyers) is not so often seen as before, but anyway, if there is some wonderful house, no matter what's the overall market situation, you can bet everybody will go after this one. I have been in business for more than 25 years and especially the luxury homes market in Toronto remembers some very interesting deals. So what to do in order to win the offer?

The very first step: Get pre-qualified

It's simple - if you don't get prequalified, you will end up in much worse position as compared to someone who has proper financing in place. The house owner has to be sure that you are able to pay for the house - when your financing is not clear, all the other advice will not help. I don't have to remind you it's a good advice especially…

Today I’d like to present you with some pros and cons of Reverse mortgage. You surely don’t have to work with finances for you to know about this financial product: As Toronto realtor, almost every day I hear about someone who went for it. One of the home loans available is called "reverse mortgage". Using this product, you can get the money according to the value of your house.
People use it quite often in the UK, where it is known under the name "Equity Release". If you are older than 60, you feel you don´t have enough funds and the idea of monthly payments is somewhat frightening for you, the reverse mortgage might be the right solution for you.
 
The principle
 
Briefly explained, when using the equity release, you get paid the money according…

The property market has been slowing across Canada for months now, and this is now coupled by and the recent turmoil in the financial sector. Analysts predict that the financial crisis could slow things even more and this view is shared by many real estate agents. Why?

Nowadays, fewer discounts are being offered on posted mortgage rates. Banks are generally toughening their lending practices, and several financial institutions have pulled out altogether for the market. The number of companies jostling for customers is shrinking.

Just a couple of months ago, in the beginning of 2008, real estate sales were still very hot. Now, it is very difficult to predict the future of Canadian real estate market. One thing is sure,  if one has bad credit, can't…