Archive for the ‘Market News’ Category
Beginning 15 October, the government of Canada will no longer guarantee a four-decade amortization with no down payment.
The government announced this week that mortgages will be limited to 35 years, require a minimum five per cent down payment, and be federally insured for only 95 per cent of the value of the home. At the same time, anyone borrowing mortgage funds must have a good credit rating and demonstrate that their debt servicing costs are not greater than 45 per cent of their gross income.
Liberal MP Garth Turner, the author of a book warning about a possible Canadian housing downturn, says the government’s decision could trigger a devaluing of homes by about 15 per cent nationally and as much as 30 per cent in boom towns like Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. It could also prompt Canadians to move quickly to beat the October deadline.
The federal finance department said forthcoming mortgage rule changes are implemented to avoid any mortgage crisis that could mirror the sub-prime mortgage fiasco in the U.S., rather than addressing any possible problems in the Canadian system.
Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,986 transactions through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in January 2010. This result represented a large increase over the 2,670 sales in January 2009 when the home sales were in a recessionary trough
Loft conversion buildings are growing in popularity, they offer convenient and clean modern living.
With large open spaces and huge ceilings, lofts have long been popular among artists for the area they offer in which to work. Toronto and other major metropolitan centres are seeing an increased demand for loft developments due to the convenience offered by a do-it-yourself, unrestricted space. Keep in mind when looking for lofts in Toronto that they are much more in demand than ever before; combined with the natural real estate prices in the Toronto area this means that loft seekers can’t expect their space to come cheaply – most lofts are similar in price to condominiums.
Given the background of the loft market, it should come as no surprise that major loft developments occur within the Toronto districts most likely to draw a bohemian, or bohemian-minded, crowd. These areas include the Annex, the Fashion District, the Theatre District and the Entertainment District. The Sylvia Lofts are located at 50 Camden Street in Toronto’s Theatre District. It is a low rise development that includes some loft conversions as well as new loft developments. Sixty-four units in the building have a price range between $200,000 and $300,000, and come with moving walls for private space as well as plenty of light from large windows.
Just to the west of the Theatre District, and to the southwest of the Fashion District, is the Twenty development at 20 Niagara. There are four suites per floor in this development, with every two suites sharing a private elevator. All suites include balconies, with penthouses incorporating roof decks and terraces. These spacious units are older, built in 1998, and range in price from $700,000 to over one million dollars.
The conversion of old warehouses to loft units is commonly called hard lofts (as opposed to soft lofts, which are new from the ground up). This hard loft style is what is offered in the Merchandise Building, on Dalhousie Street in downtown Toronto near Ryerson University and the Eaton Centre. The Merchandise building was built as a department store, and later became a Sears warehouse, before being converted to lofts in the 1990s under the guidance of the City of Toronto.
There are certain characteristics that are essential to loft living. Loft owners are typically inclined to create their own space while still maintaining easy access to important areas and amenities of the city. Toronto offers several developments that can meet the requirements of any potential loft owner.
Most of us have seen the vast evolution of communication in the last couple of decades. From the explosion on to the scene of the user-friendly-size cellular phone in the 1980s to the texting and Tweeting of today, the way society communicates has been re-invented. Talking to a person in another location the old-fashioned way – by regular phone – is not often the first choice, especially by the younger generation. “E-me” or “text me” is a common request in the 21st century.
But has this new way of short-term, online connecting helped your real estate business? Do people really follow you on Twitter? Is your Facebook page crowded with enough Friends to fill Yankee Stadium? Are you LinkedIn with the people that matter? And if so, is your business growing? If not, you may need to adjust your technique, or get some help to update your knowledge or equipment.
Every real estate agent, or any business person for that matter, who takes the time to learn how their company can benefit from a few social networking lessons will reap the benefits. The advanced uses of the Internet will only continue to grow and with it, the better possibility to deal with leads and increase your conversion rate – change leads into sales. However, you must be the one driving the proverbial bus. Invite people to your website so you can further dazzle them with your business prowess and get them a great deal on their new home.
Many people are excited then they see leads start to pour in and they tell their associates how many contacts they have gained. The trick is to act on those contacts to close the sale, or at least keep the dialogue moving ahead. Here are some tips:
Make sure the information that you are putting out to the masses is relevant to your real estate business. Not too many people care that the corned beef on rye you had for lunch at Gino’s Deli was the best ever made.
Become blog savvy. Establish yourself on other sites by adding comments to another person’s blog notes.
Make sure there is a working link back to your site. Whenever you post a comment, send out a Tweet, or add an update to your Facebook page, test your personal, or signature link to see if it goes to your website as it should. If it doesn’t, correct the situation immediately.
Contact the genuine leads as soon as possible as they can grow cold quickly. Potential customers will move on to their second/next choice if they don’t hear from you in a timely fashion.
Maxwell Horner
