Ontario, Canada  -  Announcing a rental at 405-740 Eglinton Avenue West, a 1 bath, 1 bdrm apartment. LIsted at  MLS® $1,000 Monthly - For Lease.

Property information

April 3, 2008 -- Low inventory levels kept sales brisk but well off record levels, TREB President Maureen O'Neill announced today. "With 6,631 transactions recorded during March, the overall Greater Toronto Area resale market was down 22 per cent from the 8,518 sales of March 2007. Since inventory, at 20,533 listings, fell six per cent between these two time periods, a portion of this result can be attributed to a lack of suitable product. And this lack of product was at least partially caused by the severe winter weather that kept both buyers and sellers on the fence during the first half of the month."

Sales were not evenly distributed across the Greater Toronto Area. In the City of Toronto (416 area code), they decreased 27 per cent to 2,527 from last March. However, the 905 suburbs saw only an 18 per cent decline, to 4,104 sales. Overall, average prices rose four per cent in the GTA to $380,338 over March of 2007. Within the City of Toronto proper, however, the average, at $404,361, increased only two per cent over the $394,199 recorded during the same period last year. Furthermore, City of Toronto districts bordering the 905 averaged $347,882, up less than one per cent from the same period last year.

Breaking down the total, 2,545 sales were reported in TREB’s 28 West districts and averaged $360,524; 1,114 sales were reported in the 14 Central districts and averaged $481,115; 1,390 sales were reported in the 23 North districts and averaged $424,742; and 1,582 sales were reported in TREB’s 21 East districts and averaged $302,235.

NEIGHBOURHOOD CORNER

The Beaches and Riverdale

In the first quarter of 2008, TREB Members sold 153 houses in The Beaches (E-2) for an average of $542,362, up 17% over the three month average in 2007 of $461,311. Riverdale (E-1) saw 173 sales averaging $438,453, up 13% over the $389,001 recorded during the same span last year.

Near Islington Golf & Country Club

• 3,500 sq. ft., 5 bath, 4 bdrm 2 story - MLS® $1,499,000

Islington, Toronto  -  Near Islington Golf and Country Club. Gracious family home with space for entertaining. Located near the best schools, on a quiet neighbourhood street, minutes from the Kingsway shops, Islington Village, bus and subway.

Newer built home, features a gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and breakfast area. The main floor consists of a grand Foyer with sweeping staircase, formal Living Room with gas fireplace, formal Dining Room, huge family Kitchen with access to the rear deck, sunken Family Room with gas fireplace, Den, Laundry, Powder Room and Garage access. There are Hardwood and ceramic floors throughout.

The second floor consists of large Master Bedroom with 5 piece ensuite and gas fireplace, 3 large Bedrooms (2 with a shared 3 piece ensuite), Office Nook and 4 piece Bathroom). All flooring on the second floor is hardwood or quality laminate, with the exception of the bathrooms, which are ceramic.

The large finished basement consists of a Recreation Room/Bar Room Combination with a gas fireplace. There is a large Games room which is easily converted to an Exercise area, 3 piece bathroom, Cantina and lots of storage. The basement is fully carpeted, with the exception of the bathroom, games room, Cantina and storage. The Bar comes complete with sink and faucet, mini-fridge and a dishwasher.

Out back there is a large yard with sweeping deck, also accessed from the Kitchen area. There is also a lower patio seating area with interlocking brick.

Includes all electrical light fixtures (except Dining Room fixture), all window coverings, stainless steel cooktop, exhaust fan, wall microwave/oven combination, dishwasher, fridge, bar dishwasher, bar fridge, extra white fridge (as is), ceiling speakers in basement, gas barbeque, sprinkler system and alarm system. The main floor has been wired for sound. The basement freezer is not included.

Property information

Taken from cbc.ca Monday November 5, 2007...

Toronto's controversial new land transfer tax is creating a bidding war in some sections of the housing market.

The city-imposed fee could be as high as two per cent of the sale price, adding thousands of dollars to the final cost.

Purchasers have until the end of December to buy a home to be exempt from the tax, or until Feb. 1, to close in order to avoid the increased fee. All sales made to first-time buyers are also exempt.

Real estate agents say many people are trying to buy, or sell their homes, before the new tax comes into effect.

"They're trying to get on with their dream," said real estate agent Harvey Cooper, describing the people he's been dealing with over the past few weeks. "They're now confronted with having to do so in a more feverish, urgent kind of format."

Cooper says many homeowners are rushing to get their houses ready to sell - and the rush to buy and sell is driving prices up.

Jonathan Winberg, a renovator who buys properties, refurbishes them, then re-sells them after increasing the value by hundreds of thousands of dollars, says he stands to take a big hit from the recently passed land-transfer tax.

"It's a huge impact and I don't know who's going to eat that cost," said Winberg "[Is it] coming out of my profit, or if I can pass that on because it is so new to the customers they are going to have their eyes on it.

"I don't think they are going to want to spend the extra money. It's like doubling the real estate fee." Winberg agrees with Cooper that the rush to get sales in before the tax takes effect is creating a bidding war, driving housing prices way up.

The land transfer tax will apply to all property purchases and will amount to between one per cent and two per cent of the purchase price. Later in the year a $60 per vehicle tax will come into effect.

The two taxes, combined, will raise about $175 million next year. In subsequent years they're estimated to bring in about $300 million.

The taxes are part of a strategy to resolve the city's budget shortfall which is estimated to be nearing $500 million.

This article was taken from the Toronto Real Estate Board's member website:

October 24, 2007 -- Toronto’s REALTORS® are concerned about the potential impact of the City of Toronto’s recently approved second land transfer tax and disappointed that the public’s opinion of this tax was ignored.

“REALTORS® have been working hard to provide the facts about this unfair idea and the public responded with action. An overwhelming majority of Torontonians believe that this tax is a bad idea,” said Maureen O’Neill, President of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). “The public made their voices heard loud and clear but, unfortunately, they were ignored.”

A poll conducted by the Environics Research Group, commissioned in part by TREB, showed that 62 per cent of Torontonians think that a land transfer tax is an unfair solution to the City’s financial challenge and that 61 per cent of Torontonians wanted their Councillor to vote against it.

“Torontonians deserve to be treated fairly. A second land transfer tax is an extremely unfair way to address the City’s financial challenges. It forces a relatively small group, home buyers, to pay for services for everyone. That, simply, is unfair,” added O’Neill.

TREB also raised concerns about the potential impact of a second land transfer tax.

“Home ownership is something that the City should be trying to encourage, not discourage. The second land transfer tax will make it more difficult for people to achieve that dream and it could hurt property values for some current home owners,” said O’Neill. “It could also have far-reaching impacts on the City’s whole economy by reducing the amount of money that home buyers have to spend on things like furniture, renovations, and energy-efficiency upgrades.”

TREB is disappointed that the City is choosing new taxes instead of more prudent solutions. Specifically, TREB believes that the City should have waited for the Mayor’s panel to report on alternative options. The Environics poll showed that 78 per cent of Torontonians think that City Council should have waited until the Mayor’s panel finished its work before deciding on new taxes.

“This is a classic example of putting the cart before the horse: tax now, save later. That, simply, doesn’t make sense,” said O’Neill. “The Mayor appointed a panel to look for savings and other options and we applaud him for that. The panel is something that TREB, and the public, called for, but they should have been allowed to finish their work so that fair options could have been considered instead of a land transfer tax.”

TREB has consistently supported fair options for dealing with the City’s financial challenges, including a more fair deal with senior levels of government, and continues to support City efforts in this regard.

“Unfortunately, we disagree with the City on the land transfer tax, and we will continue to oppose it. We continue to believe that it is not fair,” said O’Neill. “Let’s not forget that this tax doesn’t solve the City’s financial challenge. We look forward to working with the City towards fair solutions. We will continue to push for a fair deal for Toronto from senior levels of government, as we always have.”