Robert Atkinson - Blog - Robert Atkinson

Recent Blog Posts by Robert Atkinson
Why Dragons Aren’t Monkeys 2012, The Year of the Dragon in Chinese astrology, has been compared to 1992, The Year of the Monkey, and the year when the Toronto condominium market, having famously and disastrously crashed under the combined weight of unrealistic and unreasonable speculative expectation and increasing interest rates, was declared dead by many pundits. The two, like Dragons and Monkeys, could not be more unlike. ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on May 7, 2012		More
Tight Market Drives Double-Digit Price Growth Greater 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		More
Why it’s a good time to buy a home By 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		More
Strong Sales/Price Growth Continue in 2012 Greater 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		More
Home prices continue their ascent The 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		More
Canada continues to shine as a place to call home..... I was following up on a report from Scotia Capital about the world economy and was pleased to see something that matched what we in the industry have been seeing first hand....Canada continues to have a good economy and is a great place to be invested in real estate. Below is a direct quote from the report which I have included a link to further down in my blog. "Canada’s housing ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on September 28, 2011		More
Home prices set to plummet! Lately I"ve been asked by friends, family and even people I meet on the street who find out I"m in real estate, "I hear prices are going to drop by 25%. Prices are so high, it's about time." My general response is the same. Yes, prices might drop by 25%, or they might go up even more! When we look at the information that is causing the prices to go up it really doesn't seem possible ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on August 10, 2011		More
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		More
Toronto & GTA Continue to be a Desirable Place to Live This 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		More
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		More
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		More
Pricing Your Home - Being overpriced is a bad start If 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		More
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		More
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		More
Economists predict higher interest rates in fall According to many of Canada’s top economists, higher interest rates – and debt servicing costs – may be just around the corner. Exactly when rates will rise is unclear and depends on who you talk to. In its latest Financial System Review, The Bank of Canada judges that vulnerability of Canadian households to adverse wealth and income shocks has grown in recent years. “At ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on February 2, 2010		More
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		More
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		More
GTA Housing Market Rebound Continues in September October 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 $406,877 – up by 10 per cent compared to the same month last year. “We have experienced an increasing rate of existing home price growth in the GTA as sales have continued outpace 2008 results,” said TREB President ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on October 8, 2009		More
Save money on your taxes while earning income Many people get into real estate as a form of wealth protection or generation but find themselves frustrated when faced with issues of being a landlord. What if I told you of a way to get all the benefits of being a landlord (ownership of real estate, rental income, tax deductions) without the downside (dealing with tenants, finding tenants, getting them to pay, fixing the property). There is a ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on July 25, 2009		More
GOVERNMENT REBATE$!!! Anyone thinking of doing upgrades to thier home be sure to check out the link below. Here you can find out what upgrades will get you a rebate and which ones won't. Not only will you feel good about helping the environment you will also be helping your pocket book by reducing your monthly bills and increasing your homes value in the market place. Call me to find out what your home is worth ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on June 20, 2009		More
Spring Market is Hopping Bank 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		More
Invest in real estate AND get a tax break, how is this possible? There is a 'secret' out there that many people are not aware of that allows them to invest in income producing real estate and also get tax deductions for up to 6 years! Instead of putting a monthly amount into RRSP's and then praying that they are wisely invested (mine slid over 34%!) you can put this same money into an investment plan that has you owing a share of a commercial property with solid ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on March 28, 2009		More
Budget 2009 - What's in it for me? 2009 Budget Highlights The government has given us a few items to help in our quest to improve our homes. The first one is nice in that you can save up to $1,350 on a wide variety of home improvements15% Home Renovation Tax Credit - Savings of up to $1,350 can be had on the first $10,000 of eligible expenses The ecoENERGY Retrofit program provides home and property owners with grants of ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on January 29, 2009		More
How's the market? The market is being reported as a 'balanced' market where there is a good ratio between the number of buyers and sellers. Prices are coming down and homes are taking longer to sell but, they are selling and a well priced home will sell quickly. On average, homes in N11 are selling in about 45 days and while prices are declining there are definitely NOT sliding (tanking, plummeting, nose-diving ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on January 15, 2009		More
How are home prices affected by the economy? Understanding today's real estate market and how the market impacts the home selling process can be confusing. This report is designed help you make the right decisions for your family by helping you understand the market and its impact on the selling process. The real estate market is a simple function of supply and demand. In real estate, supply is the total number of homes ... Posted by Robert Atkinson on November 10, 2008		More

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