As a buyer of a new-build home, I have spent over 7 months decorating my new space in my mind, traveling to examine the progress on my home and frequenting interior decorating stores. Anyone who has bought a new-build home can certainly relate to the anticipation of moving into a shiny new custom space….and the cost of it.

My sister has had a much longer go of this ordeal. She has been patiently waiting for close to 3 years for the development of her new condo and has proudly been occupying her space for a total of 4 days. Within 24 hours of her move, she was confronted with an unexpected attribute of her new home; glorious, never-ending, mind numbing LIGHT. At first I thought she was exaggerating…until I went over to her place in the afternoon and had to keep my sunglasses on to keep from squinting. It was nice to chat over a glass of wine later that night but my sister kept insisting that we keep all the lights off. Within five minutes she had proven her point. Sleeping in her positively glowing space is an impossibility with the constant glare of city lights streaming through the gorgeous floor to ceiling windows.

When confronted with a dilemma, I feel the need to resolve it so like any good sister, we took an emergency trip to a reputable window covering store. It was here that we were horrified to learn that the solution to her problem (black out shades) is going to cost a mind-numbing $6000. I might add here that I spent 6 weeks traveling in Southeast Asia for less than this. My sister and I share many things, including expensive tastes but in all fairness we quickly discovered that anything short of old school vertical blinds (a major resale no-no) would run around the same price.

I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble but if you are thinking of buying a new-build home, it is important to understand that there are a number of hidden costs associated with them. I know realtors tell you this all the time but sometimes these words of wisdom get buried in the excitement of buying a new space. As a home buyer of a new-build, I am outlining the costs that personally added to my big ticket home price.

Here are the top costs associated with a new home:

1. Location (not only neighbourhood but lot premium) – We all know that premium neighbourhoods come with premium price tags but premium lots also come at a hefty premium. A big pet peeve of mine is that most people don’t know how much their home is going to cost them until they are in the sales office, minutes away from signing their purchase agreement. The resale market may be moving quickly these days but at least my clients have an opportunity to know the list price of a home before they agree to sit down at the bargaining table.

2. Staircases – Builders LOVE to catch you on upgrading staircases because it is extremely difficult to do later on. This combined with staining your staircase to match your hardwood floors can add up to big bucks. It’s extremely difficult to upgrade later so if you are interested in this upgrade, mentally add it to the sale price before walking into the sales office.

3. Ceilings – As a realtor, I will tell you that buyers love 9 ft ceilings. Find out if this is included in the purchase price of your home.

4. Flooring – Some builders include flooring upgrades (ie: hardwood) in the original purchase price while others do not. Find out what your builder excludes and add a hefty price to your purchase if you are planning to upgrade. This is not the area to express your unique style. Go for popular choices that look expensive. (No one has ever told me that a home had TOO much hardwood or that the flooring was TOO neutral). Flooring is difficult and expensive to change and it is extremely difficult to match hardwoods later on so get your choice right the first time and it will pay off when you do sell your home.

5. Kitchens and Baths – I don’t think I really need to elaborate here. Plan to spend a good chunk of money upgrading your kitchen and to a lesser extent, your bathrooms. We all know that kitchens and baths sell houses.

6. Layout – While layouts may not have a huge impact on the price of new build homes, they can have a huge impact on the price of a resale home. Consider flow, function, light, and desirability of your floor plan in detail. I think this is almost as important as your neighbourhood and lot location. Think about how you will place your furniture in your new home. It may look great on paper but be difficult to work with in reality. A great layout is a must have for most of my buyers.

7. Appliances – Try to match the quality of your appliances to the overall value of your home (ie: million dollar homes demand nicer appliances from buyers than $300,000 homes do). No home is undeserving of stainless steel. It is worth every extra dollar it costs.

8. Lighting - Adding the right number of potlights and upgrading the standard builder’s light fixtures add the wow effect that homeowners love. This can be expensive and is almost always an upgrade so factor it into your calculations.

9. Fences and Landscaping – Even if you buy a postage stamp sized lot, you can easily spend thousands of dollars making the exterior a beautiful space.

10. Window Coverings – I wish I could say that my sister will get every dollar out of her window covering investment but she likely will not. Buyers appreciate good window coverings but unlike other upgrades, they don’t in my opinion always get a 100% return on investment. As a new-build buyer, I recommend you mentally add the cost of new window coverings to the cost of your home and factor this in when comparing new build costs versus resale home prices.

Before buying a new build home take the time to factor in all the hidden costs associated with your purchase. Once this is done, figure out what you can get for a comparable price in the resale market and make your decision from there. Buying a new build home can be an overwhelming experience. I highly recommend doing your research first so that you can focus on the fun things…like picking out new window coverings!

Happy house hunting to all. Stay tuned for my follow-up article: “Why Didn’t You Tell Me THIS at the Sales Office: The Intangible Costs of Owning a New Build Home”.

Regards,

Lindsay

Glenorchy (Scottish for valley of tumbling waters) is a brand new conservation area in North Oakville. The area is just under 1000 acres and will be bounded by Highway 407 to the north, Dundas Street to the South, Bronte Road to the West and Sixteen Mile Creek to the east. The jury is still out on how the recreational area will be used but the focus will be on keeping it a natural heritage area with some potential for recreational areas within.

Glenorchy’s master plan was recently presented to the Conservation Halton Board and Ontario Realty Corporation and is expected to be approved in 6 months to a year’s time. Once complete, the immediate focus will be on restoring the area’s natural environment. There are plans to eventually develop 7.9 km’s of walking trails although this development is likely still 5-10 years away. With time, the area should be open to walker’s, joggers, hikers, bird watchers, photographers and artists who can all enjoy the beauty of Oakville’s natural surroundings. The area itself is made up of gently rolling hills, forest, creeks and wetlands, and includes a portion of the Sixteen Mile Creek valley with its beautiful gorge.

In addition to the new massive park currently under development in North Oakville (North Park), the Town of Oakville has set aside an additional 82 acre parcel of land immediately adjacent to Glenorchy which will be used as another recreational park. The new park will include several soccer fields and recreational facilities. Part of the proposal is to create a parking lot, washroom, shelter and potentially an education centre to accommodate Glenorchy and serve as an entranceway to the conservation area.

Unlike so many cookie-cutter developments, North Oakville is promising to be a great new area where development is built around our natural heritage systems. If I take a step back and look at neighbouring communities, it is easy to see that preservation is not always a priority which makes me appreciate North Oakville’s careful development that much more. I am excited by the proposed Glenorchy conservation area plan and look forward to seeing the area restored to its natural state. It is just one more reason to love North Oakville.

Regards,
Lindsay

I have to thank a client of mine for the inspiration to write this blog article. The spotlight as we all know is on the economy. Nowhere is this more apparent than the media attention being given to the ‘hot’ housing market.

Here are some common real estate questions that I am being asked with increasing frequency by prospective buyers and sellers. I preface that the responses below are my opinion only. If I had a crystal ball, I would use it to make my fortune and retire early but alas I am still sitting here.

1) What is your gut feel on what will happen this summer after new mortgage restrictions have kicked in?

To clarify, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced last week the following changes to housing market rules: 1)all new borrowers will have to meet standards for five-year, fixed-rate mortgages even if they’re seeking a shorter, variable-rate loan 2) The government is lowering the maximum amount Canadians can withdraw when refinancing to 90 per cent of the value of their homes, from the current 95 per cent 3) The government will now require a 20-per-cent down payment for government-backed mortgage insurance on “speculative” investment properties.

My gut is that the mortgage restrictions aren’t going to have a significant impact on the resale market in Oakville. It may have a bigger impact on the Toronto condo market where there are more speculators affected by the refinancing and speculative down payment restrictions. What the press didn’t really publicize is that mortgage lenders were basing approval ratings on 3 year fixed rates prior to the new rules taking effect. Changing the approval requirements to a 5 year fixed rate is not a significant leap given that most of the buyers I know aren’t maxing out their qualification amount anyways. A bigger impact would have been made if Flaherty reduced amortization or to a lesser degree, increased the down-payment rules. Most first time buyers I know are usually putting more than 5% down but many take advantage of the longer 35 year amortization just to keep their monthly costs lower. Regardless, Flaherty didn’t touch amortization or down-payment requirements so this is a moot point. From my perspective, the new mortgage rules do a good job of reducing the market swings that could be caused by speculators while maintaining the opportunity for credit-worthy buyers to purchase property.

2) What is your gut feel on what will happen this summer after HST is implemented?

The harmonized HST which comes into effect July 1, 2010 will mainly affect service costs in the resale market (commissions to real estate brokerages, legal fees, etc). In the new home sales market, HST will be applicable on any home over $400,000. Purchasers of new homes valued between $400,000-$500,000 will be able to claim a proportional rebate on HST paid while homes under $400,000 will be exempt from the tax.

Some realtors are worried that the HST rules are contributing to people’s motivation to sell before the tax comes into effect. I personally don’t know anyone selling now to save on HST costs (it really only affects commissions, legal services, and other related closing costs). I think HST is having a much bigger factor on the new home market which as far as I can see is going absolutely crazy right now. There isn’t a ton of detached new home sales in Oakville right now but when they do start selling off the land North of Dundas Street, I can see how it will be more difficult for developers to keep prices in line with resale prices given the new HST tax applicable to new home sales over $400,000. If anything though, this should have a slight positive effect on keeping demand for resale homes high.

3) What is your gut feel on what will happen this summer after interest rates start to rise?

The Bank of Canada has publicly announced that they will not raise the overnight lending rate until midway through 2010. Mortgage rates tend to follow overnight lending rates and bond rates therefore, when the overnight lending rate starts to rise as expected in the back half of 2010, mortgage rates are also expected to rise.

Interest rates should have the greatest effect on the housing market. Typically the Bank of Canada doesn’t raise rates more than 0.25% each quarter although I suppose the rate will ultimately depend on how strong our economy rebounds. I think there is a lot of hype being written about the benefit of locking in rates right now which is motivating buyers. I would expect demand to soften slightly in the back half of this year which in turn should reduce the rate of housing price increases. The big BUT for me is that lower demand does not necessarily mean lower prices. Unless we see another huge catastrophic economic event like we did in Q4 ‘08, I suspect that housing prices will continue to rise albeit at a slower rate than they are now. Even with last year’s economic crash, housing prices dipped for only a few months before rebounding. During that period, I met a lot of people who were scared and feeling the pinch of the economy but there really weren’t a lot of foreclosures/power of sales, etc. People hung on to their homes to ride out the storm and if they had to move, many decided to lease out their properties so they wouldn’t take a hit on the price.

Bottom line for me is that current demand is not sustainable but prices are. Canadians have too much equity in their homes to walk away from them and while I have no evidence of this, the vast majority of Oakville properties are principle residences so the influence of speculators is much less than it is in say Toronto or Vancouver. I’m working with a number of buyers right now and I have to say that some of the sale prices seem ridiculous given their comparables but these new prices are the comparables of the future. There really would be no reason to think that a new listing would be worth less than a comparable listing recently sold unless demand somehow just drops off. For this to happen, we would need to see a sharp, fast rise in interest rates (unlikely given the economy) or a significant new economic development (while domestic and foreign debt is to me a real long term concern, I don’t think it is an immediate threat to local housing prices).

If you have questions about the local Oakville real estate market, I would love to hear from you. I can be reached at lindsay@remaxaboutowne.com or 905.338.9000.

Regards,

Lindsay

The breadth and scope of Oakville’s many amenities sets itself apart from neighbouring communities. I am so impressed with the thought and planning that goes into developing these amenities, which is no more apparent than in Oakville’s latest project: the Queen Elizabeth Park Community Centre.

When Queen Elizabeth Park High School closed its doors in June 2004, the Town of Oakville decided to buy the land from the Halton District School Board and turn an aging facility into a huge opportunity for Oakville residents. After much discussion, it was agreed that the land and building located in West Oakville (on Bridge Road between Third Line and Bronte) would become home to a new Community Centre.

In order to respect the history of the high school, plans have been made to rejuvenate the existing 144,000 sq ft facility as opposed to tearing it down and rebuilding from scratch. Demolition is now complete and construction is expected to start this spring. I think what gets me most excited is that approximately 1/3 of the new space will be home to Art and Performance amenities. This is a huge opportunity to expand and encourage residents to participate in the cultural arts community. I’m not just talking about a couple of rooms here; there are a number of areas designed for specific art uses. Don’t believe me? Check out the list of facilities below:

Arts & Performance Facilities:

• Wood Working Studio
• Pottery Studio
• Music Instruction and Rehearsal Rooms
• Digital Arts/Photo Room
• Music Recording Room
• Clean Fine Arts Studios
• Dirty Studio
• Rehearsal Hall
• Dance Studio
• Spinning and Weaving Studio

Highlights of the space:

• The ‘Welcome Centre’ and Lounge - Just inside the front doors you will find the ‘Welcome Centre’, lounge, and cafe. New skylights will bring daylight to the interior. There will be lounge seating and artwork on display. This will be a prime gathering space inside of QEP.
• ‘Black Box’ Performance Space - This space can be used for performances, rehearsals, and meetings. It can be used as a studio for photographers, videographers, and choreographers. This room is part of a suite of spaces that can serve arts and community groups.
• Clean Fine Arts Studio - This space is just one of a number of art studios that will be housed in the new community centre.
• The Art Gallery – The centre will have a dedicated Art Gallery for exhibitions. There will also be a significant potential for additional display of artwork and installations in the main entrance lounge and corridors

Sports and Recreation enthusiasts will not be disappointed in the new facility either which will include the following amenities:

Sporting & Recreational Facilities:

• Outdoor Tennis courts
• Outdoor Playground
• Youth Centre
• Indoor Pool
• Gym
• Dance Studio
• Active Living Studios
• Older Adults Centre

Other Facilities:

• Child Minding Area
• Meeting room
• Multi-Purpose Rooms
• Cafe

As a realtor, I analyze neighbourhoods for a living. I’ve seen many, lived in several and always come to the conclusion that there is no place like Oakville. Oakville is made up of caring residents who continuously strive to raise the bar in their community. The Queen Elizabeth Park Community Centre is just one of several initiatives demonstrating this desire. I’m excited to see the centre come to fruition and thank all those individuals involved in the project thus far. After reviewing the new centre, I am seriously motivated to start exploring my deep-seeded creative side. This, coming from someone who considers writing blog posts a “creative endeavour”.

For more information on the QEP Community Centre, click on this link for an outline of the new centre or visit the Town of Oakville’s website.

All the best,

Lindsay

What a difference a year can make. We started off 2009 with headlines predicting housing market crashes, rapidly declining sale prices and general gloom and doom stories. Now, in December we are seeing speculation of housing bubbles, stories of bidding wars and general speculation about how “hot” the market is. Buying a home is a stressful time, particularly as a first time buyer. Who should you believe? How do you know when it’s the right time to buy? Where do you start to look? Below are my thoughts on what you as a first time buyer should think about when buying your first home.

1. When You Get Into The Real Estate Market is Less Important Than Just Getting In It and Staying In It. In other words, the length of time you plan on staying in your home is more important than when you buy it. If you are like most first time buyers, you are likely planning on owning a home for the rest of your life. We can all make predictions but no one really knows what the market is going to do in 2, 4, 6 or even 12 months. Just look at 2009 real estate predictions versus actual results (VERY few people predicted the housing market to take off as it has). It is however fairly safe to assume that if you hold onto your home for several years, you will make money. Instead of timing what the market is going to do next month, focus on what it will do a few years out. If you believe the market is going to go up, then ignore short term price swings and go for it.
2. Plan for Future Life Changes. Typical first time buyers in their 20’s and 30’s generally have a number of life changes to look forward to: marriage, children, potential career changes, etc. While you can’t eliminate these unknowns you can plan for them when buying a home. Don’t ignore things such as local schools, access to major transit lines and the size of that 3^rd bedroom. You just never know when these things will become important to you. Even if you plan on moving in a few years, it is always better to buy a home that can accommodate future life changes (just in case).
3. Don’t be Swayed by the Media. Media headlines are meant to invoke readership. The headlines don’t need to be false to play up the most shocking details ultimately spinning a story out of balance. To prove my point, here is a sample of Real Estate headlines appearing in Canadian papers in the first quarter of 2009:- GTA Housing Sales and Prices Plunge (Globe and Mail)

   - January Home Sales Plunge 50% (Toronto Star)

   - Loss of Confidence Swamps House Market (Toronto Star)

   The Toronto Real Estate Board reported that in January 2009, median sale prices were down 5.3% from a year earlier. The only thing that dropped 50% was the number of homes being sold. The truth is most people don’t care about sales volume but do care about home prices. So why wasn’t the focus of these headlines on the actual price drop? Clearly, reporting a “5.3% drop” isn’t nearly as eye-catching as a “50% plunge”. Ironically, the best time to buy in 2009 was when the doom and gloom headlines were at their peak. Those buyers who had the insight to look beyond the fear-filled stories typically bought their home at a good price and low mortgage rate. While I wouldn’t ignore the media all together, I certainly advise buyers to take it with a grain of salt. Every article has a bias (mine included). In the end, it is your money and your decision. Do not let others dissuade you from doing what you feel is best.

4. Consider Your Future Income Potential. Understanding what you can aford is important but so is factoring in your future income potential. If you are early in your career, it is not uncommon that your salary will appreciate considerably within a few years. Not everyone can count on a salary increase however if you are confident you will make more money in the future, you may want to consider stretching into a home that you can live in longer. Moving costs can wipe out any profits if you decide to sell in the first few years of home ownership. If you are lucky, your home will appreciate quickly but this is not something you should count on. You should anticipate living in a home for at least a few years before breaking even or realizing a profit on its sale.
5. Don’t Let the Past Paralyze Your Future. First time buyers tell me all the time, “I wish I had bought 2 years ago”. The truth is that in real estate, the earlier you bought, generally the more money you have made. What first time buyers need to realize is that a few years from now someone will likely be saying, “I wish I had bought in 2009”. Prices are high right now but what is more important is where you think they are going to be a few years from now. If you believe they will be significantly lower, than wait; if not, jump in.
6. Be Prepared to Respond to Changing Markets. The housing market is finicky (just look at the market fluctuations in 2009 alone). Real Estate Board statistics are great at showing market trends but they are backward looking reports that are not necessarily indicative of the future. Supply and demand change significantly from month to month due to seasonal, situational and economic shifts. The faster that you as a buyer react to the changes in the market, the better off you will be. There are times when buyers have to be more aggressive to get the home they want and other times when they can be more demanding on sellers. The only way to know what the market is doing right now is to get the advice of a realtor. We are the ones who see the market shifting before the MLS statistics come out. Finding a realtor who is in tune with the area you want to buy in is a powerful tool. Find an agent you trust, and get them working for you as early as possible.
7. Understand Your Financial Options. Don’t rely on on-line mortgage calculators and internet information. The best people to talk to about financing your home are the experts themselves. A good mortgage broker or financial lender will tell you exactly how much money you qualify for and more importantly, provide you with different payment options. Speaking with a mortgage broker early on in your buying process (even 6-12 months out) can be key in giving you the knowledge you need to make an informed financial decision and they give many buyers the peace of mind they need to move forward. If you want some names of people to speak with, let me know. I know some fantastic mortgage brokers that I am happy to recommend.
8. Your Home Is Unlike Other Assets. A home is a place to live, relax and create memories, it is not just an asset. I find that most people have some kind of emotional reaction to a home when they find “the one”. My only point here is to tell you not to settle. There are great homes out there at every price point. Don’t let fear, frustration or guilt make you settle for something less than stellar.
9. Have Faith That People Want to Help Not Hurt You. It is natural for people to be guarded by realtors and mortgage brokers. I get it. Like every profession, not everyone abides by the same skill level. I will say though that for the most part realtors exist to help, not hurt you. I have no desire to work with someone who doesn’t want my help but I am more than happy to work with those who do. There is only so much information you can get from looking at MLS and researching the internet so don’t feel guilty about getting an agent involved before you are ready to buy. Many first time buyers are surprised when I tell them that I start working with many of my clients 6-9 months before they actually buy anything. My role is to educate and empower. This is not something that is necessarily accomplished in 2 weeks. Don’t feel guilty as a first time buyer to get a realtor and mortgage broker involved at the start of your home search. When you surround yourself with knowledgeable people, the entire process is much easier.

2010 is shaping up to be another fascinating year for real estate in Oakville. Best of luck to all the first time buyers out there! For more advice, visit www.lindsaywalls.com or email me at lindsay@remaxaboutowne.com.

Regards,

Lindsay

Phase 1 is expected to be finished by Fall 2010 and will include the following:

• Quad pad arena including a 1,500 seat Olympic-sized ice surface and three NHL-sized ice pads
• Four soccer fields
• Cricket pitch
• Leash-free dog zone
• BMX/skateboard facility
• Splash pad
• Playground
• Other park amenities

Phase 2, scheduled to begin by 2015 will include:

• A community centre
• Library facility

Phase 3, scheduled to begin in 2018, will include:

• the development of the north parcel of land and will primarily focus on outdoor sports fields and passive areas

If you have spoken to a Realtor about buying a home, you should be familiar with the Buyer Representation Agreement. Like any contract, the Buyer Representation Agreement outlines commitments that your agent promises to make in exchange for commitments you promise to make. Under this Agreement, agents are committed to provide you with the following duties: LOYALTY, OBEDIENCE, DISCLOSURE, CONFIDENTIALITY, REASONABLE CARE AND DILIGENCE, and ACCOUNTING. In exchange, buyers commit to ensuring the agent is paid for services rendered (Note that in most cases, the payment is usually paid by the seller). Legally, realtors are obligated to discuss buyer agency with potential clients at the earliest opportunity.

When I first learned about Buyer Representation Agreements I wasn’t convinced they were really in the best interest of buyers. You can argue that realtors like Buyer Representation Agreements as they bind buyers to them and ensure they get paid regardless of the service they provide. I agree to a certain extent but have quickly determined that as a professional realtor, establishing a Buyer/Agent relationship is the only way I will do business. Here’s why…

As a realtor I meet a lot of people who are looking for information on the Oakville housing market. I receive several emails and phone calls and am happy to spend time discussing real estate issues with potential clients (really I am) but like everything else there is a limit to the amount of hours in my day. Despite what many people want to believe, real estate is much more than setting up appointments and opening up doors. I say this with the utmost honesty as someone who knows the pressures and stress of a corporate job. There is no way I would have chosen to switch careers if I thought the advice of a realtor could just as easily be learned through an MLS or Google search. No one understands the nuances of the local market, future development plans for an area, the art of negotiation, school issues and make-up of specific neighbourhoods like an intelligent, diligent local realtor.

I spend hours upon hours working for my clients and several more keeping up to date with current real estate and housing information. My first priority is to my clients and in order to provide a level of service that I am proud of, I limit my interactions to clients first and prospective clients second. To be brutally honest, I just don’t have time to dedicate the kind of service buyers deserve (sometimes for months at a time) without any kind of commitment of loyalty from them. For me, the Buyer’s Representation Agreement solidifies my commitment of excellence and priority status to you in exchange for your commitment of loyalty to me.

When explained this way, I find that most people have no issues signing the agreement, leading to a relationship built on trust and service. It is the best way I know how to do business. I question buyers who believe that they will somehow get better service or a better deal without using a committed Buyer’s agent. I simply do not understand how they think they will get first class service and advice without any kind of commitment (on either end). Like most things in life, you get out what you put in. If you believe realtors are transactional type people who simply book appointments and unlock doors then you can easily find one that will be willing to provide you with minimal service for minimal commitment. If you expect more out of your realtor, then take your time, find a realtor you trust, have them commit to you, and be willing to commit to them. If you do so, you will be impressed by the advice and expertise you gain from the experience.

Questions or comments? Feel free to comment below, email me at lindsay@remaxaboutowne.com or call me at 905.338.9000.

Regards,

Lindsay

I am a bit of a learning junkie.  If I could, I would spend hours reviewing current events then spend several more discussing them with family and friends.  My husband jokes that dinner with me is a two hour affair as it takes me that long to tire of discussing the day’s events.

I recently watched an episode of Allen Gregg’s program on TV Ontario that I think is worth sharing with you.  The program is focused on financial planning in general however several points are made about real estate investing, most people’s largest investment.

At the very end of the clip (around the 24 minute mark), financial guru David Bach gives his take on realtors which of course made my ears perk up.  Below is the full clip, enjoy!

Luxury homes sales continue to accelerate as economic recovery takes hold in major markets in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, according to a report released today by RE/MAX.  Below are the details of the full press release.

The RE/MAX Upper End Report found that momentum is building in St. John’s, Saint John, Halifax-Dartmouth, Ottawa, Kingston, Greater Toronto, Hamilton-Burlington, and London as purchasers realize that the best buying period in recent history is about to come to a close.  Sales are already on par or ahead of last year’s levels in 50 per cent of cities surveyed, while the remaining markets are set to reach 2008 figures by year-end.

“Twelve months of healthy home buying activity have clearly been crammed into five short months,” says Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada.  “It’s hard to believe that the transition in the market began in May. We’ve seen steady upward momentum since that time, with solid year-over-year gains posted each and every month.”

Pent-up demand and greater affordability have been the catalyst.  Increased selection in all markets—except Greater Toronto—as well as record low interest rates have also helped fuel move-up activity from Ontario to Newfoundland.

Leading in terms of sales appreciation is London, Ontario where the number of homes sold, priced in excess of $500,000, has climbed 11 per cent from January to September 2009, compared to one year ago.  Greater Toronto and Ottawa both reported a one per cent increase in the number of homes sold in the top end during the same period.  Within the GTA, Richmond Hill/Thornhill is particularly heated, with sales up 24 per cent over 2008 levels, followed by Mississauga— up 10 per cent.  St. John’s, Newfoundland is on par with year-ago figures.

Of the six markets reporting a year-over-year decrease in sales, four are off by just a handful of transactions (10 units or less), including Halifax-Dartmouth (off eight units), Kingston & Area (off three units), Toronto – West End (off 10 units), and Oakville (off five units).  Activity in the remaining two markets—Saint John and Hamilton-Burlington—is on the upswing, with the gap between 2008 and 2009 narrowing each month.

“A considerable shift is underway in the upper end,” explains Polzler.  “The price correction that we witnessed earlier in the year is over and prices have since firmed up.  Conditions are more balanced across the board or leaning toward seller’s territory once again.  The one exception is the Greater Toronto Area — now largely a seller’s market — with bidding wars making a comeback amid tight inventory levels.  The strength of the luxury segment is evident.  This is now a real estate market with all sectors working in tandem.”

Highlights:

• Upper end sales started to move upward as positive indicators of economic recovery began to emerge.  The momentum is expected to continue as Canada edges closer to positive periods of GDP growth in Q4 2009 and in 2010.
• Locals are fuelling luxury sales in the majority of markets surveyed.  Activity among out-of-province and international purchasers has waned from one year ago, although their presence in still evident in some markets.
• Sixty-one properties in Canada are currently priced over $10 million, with 18 of those located in Ontario.  The priciest Ontario home is nestled in Toronto’s prestigious Bridle Path area, listed at $23 million.
• Three hundred properties currently listed for sale are priced over $5 million in Canada.
• In Atlantic Canada, there are 22 listings in excess of $2 million—13 in Nova Scotia, five in New Brunswick and two in Prince Edward Island.  The most expensive property in Atlantic Canada is a $7.75 million estate on a bluff fronting the Atlantic Ocean on PEI’s north coast.

RE/MAX is Canada’s leading real estate organization with over 17,000 sales associates situated throughout its more than 677 independently-owned and operated offices across the country.  The RE/MAX franchise network, now in its 36th year, is a global real estate system operating in more than 70 countries.  Over 6,700 independently-owned offices engage nearly 100,000 member sales associates who lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production while providing real estate services in residential, commercial, referral, and asset management.  For more information, visit: www.remax.ca.