L'Espace Blog (bilingue) du Guide de Toronto

A scam has been spreading all over North America for quite some time now and seems to be picking up speed. The purpose of the call is to warn you that your car manufacturer's warranty is about to expire and that you can have access to an extended warranty through the services of the company that's calling you.

When you receive the call, you may be speaking to a live person, or just have to listen to an automated system message.

In either situation, the goal of the scammers is to retrieve your credit card information and get you to subscribe to an extended warranty for your vehicle. No need to mention that this warranty is totally bogus and will not protect you whatsoever.

Numbers I've received the call from so far:

- 416 907 4361

- 949 202 4027

- 310 599 9117

- 302 875 8634

- 802 525 4519

 

So watch out for these calls.

 

Vehicle-warranty scam picks up speed

 

Un article très intéressant à lire sur le marché de l'immobilier à Toronto.

 

Please note that original content is Property of Aeriol NIcols, from Keller Williamw Referred Realty Inc, Brokerage. Reproduction not allowed unless specifically authorized.

http://wpmi.aeriol.com/torontoshomeblog.blog

 

 

Just a little update to keep you abreast of current market conditions in the GTA

Our May sales on the Toronto Real Estate Board were  lower again than May of 2007 actually down by 16%. 
We are finally moving away from a boom market to a Normal Market.  This means homes will take longer to sell and buyers will get to negotiate. 

A more equitable position to be in. In the old days ( I am dating myself here) the average house took 108 days to sell. 
So if we get back to a 30-60 day time cycle that will be Normal.

Currently, active listings were 8% higher than a year ago. Condo sales are faring better. In May they were down by 9% overall and off by 10% Downtown from May of '07.  Since the condo market is now 40% of the City market we have to look carefully at what that market is doing.
Condo stats are so high because 60-67% of the market is first time home buyers and they generally buy condos. Another much smaller percentage of the market are downsizers.

When those first timers sell their condo they move up to a bigger condo and usually on the 3^rd move they go into a house. After FIVE MONTHS, let's put the condo market in perspective by looking at the YEAR TO DATE condo stats. Sales so far in 2008 are 9% lower than 2007 but listings are up 2%! The days-on-market for solds dropped from 28 days in 2007 to 23 days this year. The sale-to-list-price ratio was 100% in 2007 and is still 100% in 2008!

What does that tell you? Price it right and it will sell. Price it wrong and it will sit.
We have a strong and active market in 2008. What we can also tell you is that while condo prices are higher today than a year ago, they are also lower than January of this year!
But what we are hearing from some potential buyers is that a major price correction is around the corner because their financial planner told them so!

When asked, where their financial planner was basing this insight from, all we got was “this is the time to buy mutual funds!! “
So what will trigger a market correction? A price bubble?
Not likely as condo prices have only experienced one year of double digit appreciation -last year.
You need three years at least or a 50+% jump in prices, as was experienced in Western Canada.
A significant change in economic factors? While we did not get a further drop in the bank prime, mortgage rates are still at historically low levels.

While the country may be heading into a no growth stage for a couple of quarters, that's not the case in central Toronto where shoppers on Bloor Street are still plentiful.
The one concern is an oversupply of new condos coming to the market, but condo construction has been delayed on a number of projects and the huge completion numbers for 2010 have been pushed out to 2011/2112.
Also CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing) has done their research and demonstrated that about 95% of the condo product being built,
that’s about 19000 units per year  being snapped up by buyers. If the glut should come they are predicting about 4 years out.
My prediction is that the excess will be sitting in the suburbs as suburban condos take much longer to sell.  It is always challenging to find good units to show in downtown T.O.
So relax!! It's still a good time to buy, but it could be better, if sellers would be more realistic in their price expectations and buyers not spooked by financial planners.

Here’s an example of where the square footage prices on condos are headed.
Tracking sales at 909 Bay Street -the Allegro built in 2000. This is one of the top buildings on the street with the most condo sales in Toronto!
We looked at a one bedroom plus den at 786 sq.ft. with parking and balcony. The highest sale price for this unit in 2008 was $390,000.
The very same unit sold 12 months earlier for $355,000, or 9.8% more. An identical unit, on a lower floor sold for $359,000 in 2007.
This same unit sold in 2006 for $293,000, a 22% increase in price. Prices are now approaching $500 per sq.ft. in this building.
We are forecasting the market to level off at $600 sq.ft. on average for premium buildings Downtown.

Current Rental Stats

In May, over 190 one bedroom units were leased -the most popular being a one bedroom plus den with parking at an average price of $1600.
A one plus one without parking averages $1500.
Furnished one bedroom's will go over $1800.
For those who need to know, the premium for parking is $100 per month and a $100 for the den!
There were 85 two bedroom units leased in May. The average was $2000 per month without parking and this increases to $2500 for furnished with parking.
The rental market should remain strong to September -seasonality. Throughout the market, the list to rental price averaged a 100% - not a lot of room to negotiate for potential tenants!

 

Aeriol Nicols

(416)445-8855

Keller Williams Referred Realty Inc., Brokerage.  

The Great Life Team is a Refferal Based group of Realtors.... Your Referrals are the lifeblood of our business.  We make it our priority to make your home move as smooth and as joyful as we know it can be. Let us know how we can serve you best.  

Aeriol Nicols  

Team Leader.

Cabs fares will rise starting in mid-July as per a decision voted by the council of Toronto on June 25th. The intial base cost will rise from 3 to $4 and the distance cost will go up25 cents per 155m.

More info: click the link below!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080625.wcouncil25/BNStory/National/home

Mathias