| Recent Blog Posts by Robert Atkinson | ||
Tight Market Drives Double-Digit Price GrowthGreater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,690 sales through the TorontoMLS system in March 2012. This result was up by almost eight per cent in comparison to the 8,986 deals reported during the same period in 2011.
“The GTA resale market has not suffered from a lack of willing buyers this year. Buyers have been spurred on by the positive affordability picture brought about by low mortgage rates,” ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on April 28, 2012
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Why it’s a good time to buy a homeBy Mark Weisleder, Toronto Real Estate Lawyer and columist | Fri Jan 27 2012
I believe there has never been a better time to buy a home. I’ve been in the industry for 28 years as a lawyer and I haven’t seen so many positive signs for housing, whether you are thinking or buying or locking in a mortgage.
Here’s why:
Mortgage rates at historic lows: They can’t ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on February 16, 2012
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Strong Sales/Price Growth Continue in 2012Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,567 sales through the TorontoMLS® system in January 2012. This number was 8.8 per cent higher than the 4,199 sales reported in January 2011. Sales growth was strongest for low-rise home types in the regions surrounding the City of Toronto. “A favourable affordability picture bolstered by very low posted fixed mortgage rates has kept home buyers confident ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on February 14, 2012
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Home prices continue their ascentThe most common question I hear in real estate is "When will prices drop?" Apparently not for anytime soon as evidenced by a report from Stats Canada stating that home prices continued their climb in August.
Fuelled by a healthy demand, sound underlying economic fundamentals, as well as a continuing low interest rate environment that contributes to supporting affordability, August marked ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on October 14, 2011
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Sellers Market Confirmed!Well, with 15% fewer listings this May compared to last May, and mortgage rates still at record lows the Toronto Real Estate market continues to perform well, favoring sellers over buyers. Sales were up 6% over last May. “Positive economic news and low borrowing costs led to strong sales through the first five months of the year, including the increase in May,” said Toronto Real Estate ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on June 13, 2011
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Sellers market?Toronto Real Estate Board states “The number of listings has been below expectations so far this year. Increased competition between home buyers has led to an accelerating annual rate of price growth,” which has pushed home prices up to a 9% increase over last April, setting the average home price to $477,407. There is an expectation that this new spike in prices will encourage ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on May 7, 2011
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Toronto & GTA Continue to be a Desirable Place to LiveThis spring continues the pattern of being a popular time to buy and sell homes. The Toronto Real Estate Board reports9,262 transactions through the TorontoMLS® system in March 2011, representing the second best March result on record. The number of transactions was 11 per cent lower than the record result reported in March 2010.
“The strong home sales reported in March and ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on April 5, 2011
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Spring MarketIt never stops to amaze me how active the spring market can be. There seems to be a shortage of good homes for sale and as a result home buyers are actively seeking out these homes and are prepared to pay to get them. What seems to be different this year from prior years is that buyers are actually passing over lesser homes and holding out for the ones that are well staged, clean and show ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on March 21, 2011
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Mortgage Rules Change, What Does It Mean? Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced three new changes to financing rules. Effective March 18, 2011, it will become harder to buy a new home or consolidate debt into your mortgage. What are the changes?
The maximum amortization period has been reduced from 35 years to 30 years for mortgages that are insured by CMHC where the homeowner has less than 20% equity ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on January 18, 2011
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Are you concerned about a 'bubble' in home prices? 2010 was the Third Best Year for Existing Home SalesGreater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,395 existing home sales for the month of December, bringing the 2010 total to 86,170 – down by one per cent compared to 2009.
“Market conditions were anything but uniform in 2010. We went from supercharged sales activity during the first four months of the year, to a marked drop-off in transactions in the summer and then in the fall saw sales climb ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on January 14, 2011
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How was November for Real Estate?Sales were strong in November with 6,510 existing home sales, down 13% from 7,446 sales in November last year. New listings were also down 13%. In a nutshell, people are still buying and selling homes, prices are steady with prices generally increasing however slightly. The GTA continues to be a popular place to live!
On a month-over-month basis, the seasonally adjusted annual rate ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on December 16, 2010
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Pricing Your Home - Being overpriced is a bad startIf you're selling your house, one of the first steps you'll take is setting an asking price, a task that requires the ability to find the perfect balance between attracting solid offers and ultimately receiving top dollar.
If you're working with a Realtor, you'll probably hear talk of fair market value, which typically means the highest value an educated buyer will pay. Fair market value is usually ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on October 24, 2010
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Is the market hot, cold or what!Last year no one wanted to talk about the market as the focus was on jobs and economy. For those who were looking for a bargain 2009 was the year to sell and buy or just buy. This year, many of the folks who bought last year in the dip sold this year and made a very nice profit, very nice indeed!
This year started off with a bang as many buyers flocked to the market looking for home, ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on June 10, 2010
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Boom? Bust? Where's the market going?Economists are predicting the current activity in housing to slow down. This means home prices will stabilize as the demand begings to balance with the availability.
See this attached story from the Toronto Sun.
Last year’s comeback for Canada’s housing market will carry through early 2010 but subdued activity is on the horizon as higher prices and interest rates make property ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on March 26, 2010
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Home, Sweet ... Investment Property?Canada's real estate market is changing faster than ever before. Depending on your province, city - and sometimes even your street - real estate prices may have dropped, increased or remained stable over the past few months.
Due to this variance, real estate sales representatives like to remind folks that all real esate is local and that the national trends you hear in the news can often be ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on January 26, 2010
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Are prices expected to climb or decline?Everyone is interested in real estate, even if they're not buying or selling. Lately one of the most common questions I get is "Is the market still slow?" I find this really interesting as the market is really quite strong right now!
Most homes are selling within a week and often with multiple offers. There are a number of factors at play as to why this is happening and it's best ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on January 2, 2010
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GTA Housing Market Rebound Continues in SeptemberOctober 5, 2009 -- In September 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 8,196 sales, up 28 per cent from September 2008. The average price for September transactions was $406,877 – up by 10 per cent compared to the same month last year. “We have experienced an increasing rate of existing home price growth in the GTA as sales have continued outpace 2008 results,” said TREB President ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on October 8, 2009
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Strong Sales Continue In AugustIn August 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 8,035 sales, up 27% per cent from August 2008. The average price for August transactions was $387,921 – up by six per cent compared to the same month last year.
"The increase in demand for existing homes has been widespread across different housing types and price ranges," said TREB President Tom Lebour. "This suggests many categories ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on September 10, 2009
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WOW...the government is helping first time home buyers even more!We all know about the goverments offer where qualified home buyers can use a generous portion of their RRSP money to buy a home but there is a 2nd program available.
The Home Buyers Tax Credit allows qualified home buyers to claim up to $750 in tax credit relief. While it may not sounds like a lot to many, this amount could potentially cover your legal fee's. I don't know about you ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on May 15, 2009
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Spring Market is HoppingBank of Canada dropped the prime lending rate 0.25% and the banks followed. Further assurances were given that the rates are expected to remain low into 2010.
Prices have become more affordable and we are seeing an increase in home sales above what is typical of the spring market. This means that 'serious' buyers are moving fast to scoop the better homes as soon as they hit the market, ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on April 23, 2009
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Why do some agents have so many listings and others have almost none...are they not active?There are as many types of people selling real estate as their are buying. In fact, some agents will focus solely on helping BUYERS find homes and not take on listings. Other agents will focus almost exclusively on taking listings and hand off any buyers that might come along to other agents.
One might wonder why would agents not do both? Why only take listings or only take buyers? ...
Posted by Robert Atkinson
on March 28, 2009
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