March 16, 2009 – March 22, 2009

Here’s a look at the Real Estate Market in Vaughan over the last 7 days:

Vaughan Real Estate Market Overview

There were a total of 89 homes listed in the 11th week of 2009 and a total of 33 sales. The breakdown of new listings includes 8 condos, 14 townhomes, 16 semi’s or links and 51 detached homes with 23 being priced under $500,000, 26 priced between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 2 priced over $1,000,000.

The breakdown of sales includes 2 condos, 7 townhome, 11 semis and 13 detached homes with 9 selling for under $500,000, 3 selling between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 1 selling for over $1,000,000. The average selling price was $524,000. Homes sold for an average of 92% of the list price and were on the market for an average of 77 days. Here is the breakdown for week 11. 

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A week ago the Globe & Mail ran it’s latest subprime “expose,” entitled “Canada’s Dirty Subprime Secret, to which the Vancouver Sun replied Friday: “There is no secret subprime mortgage problem in Canada.”

The Globe’s story was largely anecdotal and attributed a big number of defaults to subprime lenders.  It used seemingly large foreclosure statistics (e.g. “10,000 foreclosure proceedings”), in a way that would make a layman think Canada had a virtual foreclosure epidemic.

Like so many stories before it, it was a completely one-sided, and dare we say irresponsible, article that offered absolutely no context whatsoever.  For example, it gave no mention of how record job losses are contributing to Canadian foreclosures.  “Everyone knows unemployment is up, everyone knows we’re in a recession, everyone knows that real estate has dropped – by definition you’re going to get higher defaults when any of those things happen,” said Xceed Mortgage’s Ivan Wahl to CMP.

See original here: 
Canadian Subprime in the Globe…Again

REALTORS® have been calling for governments at all levels to take action on the economy, and, next week, the provincial government will have an opportunity to do its part when it reveals the details of its annual budget. Ironically, given some of the talk coming from Queen’s Park lately, what the Province doesn’t do may be even more important than what it does.

In recent months, Premier McGuinty has been publicly talking about the possibility of combining the five percent federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the eight per cent Provincial Sales Tax (PST), to create a single Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). On the surface, this may seem rather benign, but the key point to remember is that these two taxes are not levied in the same way, so many things that are currently only subject to one tax, would, under this scheme, start paying both taxes.

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Maintaining and improving property values is essential for every homeowner. Knowing tips and secrets about landscaping to improve values can make a big difference. Economic turmoil and the declining value of houses has a lot of people worrying about their personal property values. We continue to experience uncertainty as we look at the current status of our country’s economic health. Instead of worrying and obsessing over what’s happening to property values, it’s time to take active steps towards improving value today and for the future. Adding attractive landscapes and improving the curb appeal of property can enhance the property’s value overnight. It may not fetch the optimal asking price right now, but landscaping can be a valuable asset today and tomorrow. The great thing about landscaping is that a large space is not necessary to enhance property value. A small garden area or several small areas are just as good as one big open area.

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Landscaping for Curb Appeal

Actions Speak Louder than Words on Affordable Housing

It’s an age-old truism that actions speak louder than words. This is especially true when it comes to government, which may be why it came to mind last month when Toronto City Council committed to finalizing a 10 year action plan on affordable housing. While it is encouraging that the City is talking about the importance of affordable housing, its words should be measured against its actions, which, unfortunately, have included numerous increases to the costs faced by home owners and buyers.

If you are a regular reader of this column, you will know that REALTORS® have numerous concerns with recent decisions made at Toronto City Hall. With that said, the City’s decision makers do deserve credit for the work done on their Affordable Housing strategy so far. Although this strategy has yet to be finalized, its preliminary draft recognizes that encouraging and facilitating home ownership is as important as creating and maintaining rental housing. REALTORS® strongly believe that home ownership is a critical part to personal wealth, economic prosperity, and a high quality of life.

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