JUST SOLD! 1863 Queen Street East #215 – The Beaches
Beautiful 1 bedroom condo situated in the heart of the Beaches! Open concept living and dining rooms with a wonderful kitchen and a large master with custom built-ins.
31 07, 2017
31 07, 2017
JUST SOLD! 122 Glen Manor Drive #3 – The Beaches
Townhouse # 3 was completely redesigned and renovated in 2008 under the direction of the renowned design firm Brian Chaput & Company. It is part of a small secluded enclave of executive townhomes ideally located in the heart of the Beach. Truly an excellent location, steps to the boardwalk, bicycle path, parks, restaurants and neighbourhood shops. This townhome also enjoys lake views under the arbour of stately trees on Scarboro Beach Blvd.
A private brick courtyard with beautiful plantings enhances the entranceway and welcomes guests to this delightful home. The entrance opens to a stylish eat-in kitchen which is beautifully designed, bright and airy with pleasant views of the courtyard. It also features Caesarstone quartz counters, custom designed cabinetry, a stainless backsplash, a large pantry, pull-out and soft close drawers and a fabulous center island.
Open concept, the overall flow on the main level is easy for entertaining. Both the dining and living room spaces are generous. They are enhanced by a walk out to the south facing balcony and a delightful wood burning fireplace that features an attractive honed slate hearth and surround. The large south facing windows ensure abundant sunshine and it is easy to relax and enjoy a pleasant breeze from the waterfront.
An open staircase leads to the second level which features three skylights, two spacious bedrooms and two beautifully renovated full baths. The master overlooks the courtyard and includes two custom designed double closets and a separate set of built-in shelves and drawers. The master bath has a double glass shower, radiant heated floors and Toto fixtures.
The second bedroom features a custom built-in bookcase and work space. The bath is finished beautifully with Toto fixtures, an Oceania soaker tub, and a repeat of the radiant heated floors. There is also ensuite laundry with front loading LG stackable washer and dryer.
Everything in the community is a short stroll from this picture perfect urban home. It is easy to be inspired to walk, jog or bicycle when living so close to the boardwalk and bicycle path. The shops and restaurants are abundant and close at hand as is the public transit for quick commuting to the downtown core.
Enjoy the ease of condo living in a special community, just minutes from the waterfront in our amazing cosmopolitan city!
8 01, 2017
How laneway houses could help solve Toronto’s real-estate woes
The GTA housing market has been operating within a policy of intensification for more than a decade now. This has caused a shift away from ground-oriented homes and moved the market toward higher-density housing, such as condominiums.
Our real-estate market has seen consistent increases in the cost of housing, with the average price of a detached home in Toronto increasing by over 32 per cent this past November from the same month last year, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.
While those who prefer urban living have embraced higher-density housing, folks looking for traditional ground-oriented housing must move farther and farther away from the city to find it.
So what if there was a way to introduce new ground-oriented housing in the heart of Toronto that could accommodate up to 100,000 people, and the solution was literally in our backyard all along? That is, if your backyard is along a laneway.
Laneway housing is an innovative concept first introduced in Toronto back in 2006. And while it ultimately went nowhere here, it did inspire Vancouver, Ottawa and other cities to introduce policies that embraced it.
The original concept a decade ago contemplated a separate dwelling being legally severed and requiring new municipal services, resulting in the digging up of laneways.
The new groundswell of interest in laneway housing (call it laneway housing 2.0) is focused on taking a different approach, where the new structures will be treated as secondary dwellings on the existing property.
That means the garage at the rear of the property could be rebuilt by the owner to include a secondary dwelling unit, potentially serviced through the existing municipal connections, limiting neighbourhood disruption and creating new appropriately sized, ground-oriented housing units that could range in size from 700 to 1,500 square feet.
This could represent one of the most innovative solutions to a wide range of the city‘s housing needs, including multi-generational households where the owner can provide accommodation for parents or children or introduce much needed rental housing stock and help generate new income from their property. And it would be creating new ground-oriented housing in areas close to transit and existing community amenities, with minimal neighbourhood disruption.
There is no silver bullet solution to solve all of our housing challenges in the GTA, but with approximately 300 kilometres of laneways in the City of Toronto, laneway housing could be a good start.
But this innovation will require that everyone works together: citizens, government and industry. And community consultations are underway. If you’re interested, you can participate by going online to: lanescape.ca/survey to learn more about the initiative and provide your input.
Remember: The best way to predict the future is to help create it.
14 11, 2016
First-time home buyers to get $4,000 land transfer rebate
Finance Minister Charles Sousa is giving first-time home buyers a $4,000 land transfer tax rebate.
Sousa used Monday’s fall economic statement to announce the tax break for eligible purchasers is being doubled from $2,000.
“Purchasing your very first home is one of the most exciting decisions in a young person’s life, but many are worried about how they will be able to afford their first condo or house,” the treasurer told the Legislature.
The change, which takes effect on Jan. 1, means first-time buyers will not pay land transfer tax on the first $386,000 of the cost of their homes.
“For many this will mean no land transfer tax on the purchase for their first home,” said Sousa.
“The housing market is an important source of economic growth and employment in Ontario and improving housing affordability will help more Ontarians participate,” he said.
Under the land transfer tax break, more than half of first-time home buyers won’t have to pay land transfer tax at all — although those in Toronto will still face the city’s levy implemented in 2008.
Renters are also getting a break, as the government freezes the property tax on apartment buildings — which are taxed at more than double the rate of other residential properties and condos, for example — while it reviews how the “high property tax burden” impacts the affordability of rentals.
To fund the breaks, the government will increase land transfer rates on houses that cost more than $2 million.
For every dollar over and above that, the rate will rise from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
But the tax on the portion of the purchase price between $400,000 and $2 million will remain at 2 per cent.
The rate between $250,000 and $400,000 stay at 1.5 per cent and between $55,000 and $250,000 at 1 per cent.
And the first $55,000 of a purchase price will remain at 0.5 per cent land transfer tax.
Those changes only affect properties with one or two single-family residences.
For other types of properties, such as apartment buildings, the only increase will be on the portion over and above $400,000, which will jump from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent.
Despite a controversial accounting change from Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk, Sousa said the Liberals would balance the books in 2017-18 as he has promised.
The deficit for 2016-17 will remain at $4.3 billion as he had projected in the February budget.
That figure would have been lower but for Lysyk surprising the Liberals last month by announcing two government-sponsored public pension funds should no longer be booked as assets — even though they had been since 2001.
The actuarial adjustment — which is now being reviewed by an independent expert panel — wiped $10.7 billion from the assets column and is the equivalent of a $1.5 billion hit on next year’s budget.
“We will balance the budget in 2017-18 and remain balanced in 2018-19 as scheduled. It’s not going to be easy, but … we will make the right choices to bring Ontario to balance,” said Sousa.
Lysyk said she amended her interpretation after examining the province’s claim to the co-sponsored Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union Pension Plan and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
In other measures — most previously announced — Sousa reminded Ontarians the government will waive the 8 per cent provincial share of the harmonized sales tax in electricity bills starting in January and bring in savings up of up $540 a year on hydro for some rural Ontario residents.
The first of 100,000 promised new child care spaces by 2022 will come this school year, with 3,400 spots at a cost of $65.5 million, while the more than 100 hospitals across the province will share an additional $140 million in base funding.
Schools will get another $1.1 billion over two years to help address a backlog of much-needed repairs and upgrades, with another $60 million going toward an effort aimed at boosting math skills in elementary school pupils by giving them one hour of math instruction daily from Grades 1 through 8.
In terms of consumer protection, the government plans to ban door-to-door sales of water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces and water filters and will pass legislation to licence and set qualifications for home inspectors.
As well, fees for special occasion permits allowing the serving of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages at weddings and other events will be cancelled.
SOURCE: THE TORONTO STAR
4 11, 2016
JUST SOLD! 126 Main Street – Upper Beaches
Congrats to our clients who beat out the competition and bought this amazing home together last night! Look at that backyard!
9 02, 2016
Getting Ready To Sell This Spring? Here Are Some Household Cleaning Tips!
1. To clean bathroom tiles and grout naturally, try a solution of 1/2 cup of baking soda in 2 gallons (approx. 8 litres) of warm water. Apply with a clean rag or soft toothbrush.
2. To scrub out or blot a stain on a cushion with a slip-cover, put a sheet of plastic between the cushion and the fabric, to prevent the stain from becoming absorbed by the cushion.
3. Most shower curtains are machine washable. Wash yours with some water, detergent and a bit of bleach (for disinfecting), plus add a few towels for abrasion.
4. To clean your dishwasher, consult your dishwasher manual for cleaning instructions, as the methodology may differ based on the interior finish of your machine. Most recommend running the machine with either vinegar, a light bleach-in-water solution, or a brand-name cleaner recommended by the manufacturer.
3 02, 2016
Toronto’s east end has the hottest real estate in the city
Homes north of Danforth Ave. and east of the Don has the shortest sale times in Toronto, according to TREB data.
By: Robin Levinson King Staff Reporter, Published on Wed Feb 03 2016
The trendiest neighbourhoods in Toronto aren’t in the trendy west end, but the east.
Homes north of Danforth Ave. and east of the Don River are selling fast, according to data provided by the Toronto Real Estate Board. The area, which encompasses posh Playter Estates to the west and rough-around-the edges Woodbine-Lumsden further east, boasts the shortest sale times in the city, with homes averaging a mere 12 days on the market compared to a city-wide average of 21 days.
To the south, Leslieville, Riverside and Riverdale came a close second, with homes averaging 13 days on the market.
Over the past decade, sale times across the city have been declining despite soaring home prices.
The median price of a Toronto home — stand-alone houses and condos combined — was $643,145 in 2015, compared to about $341,450 in 2005.
Yet in 2015, homes typically spent 21 days on the market, down 10 days from 2005 when they took a full month to sell. It’s a trend that has touched almost every corner of the city. The only areas that did not see a decrease in sale time were neighbourhoods around the Annex, Casa Loma and Wychwood.
Toronto realtor Desmond Brown said that low interest rates and population growth mean that there are more buyers than available homes, so most properties get snapped up fast.
“I think it’s basic supply and demand,” he said. “Good inventory is at a premium.”
That’s great news for sellers, especially for those north of the Danforth who bought at a low price and can now reap the benefits of a decade’s gentrification. Over the past ten years, the median value of homes north of the Danforth has increased 132 per cent, from $288,500 in 2005 to $608,500 in 2015.
“We’ve seen higher prices there, or even bidding wars, because it’s about supply,” said real-estate agent Linda Ing-Gilbert.
A recent listing, a three-bedroom semi at 106 Woodmount Ave., sold in six days for $681,700, more than $80,000 over asking. Ing-Gilbert, who grew up around the Danforth, said the area is often the last refuge for affordable family homes for many in the city.
Most of the bidders for the home west of Woodbine Ave. were first-time home buyers, she said, or young couples looking to upgrade from a condo.
“I think every single woman was pregnant,” Ing-Gilbert said.
Many start out hoping to buy in the more trendy west end, Ing-Gilbert said, but soon come to realize you can get the same amenities — access to the subway, schools and good restaurants — for about 10 per cent less in the east.
But there’s a price to pay for affordability, and that’s popularity, said Brown. Everybody loves a bargain, which means it can take buyers a few tries to land an east-end starter home.
Conversely, homes in neighbourhoods like the Annex can take a bit longer to unload.
“It’s a simple explanation — there aren’t as many buyers for the high-end properties,” he said.
SOURCE
12 01, 2016
Two Decades Of Steady Price Appreciation In The GTA
Steady average price appreciation over close to two decades makes GTA housing market a global anomaly, says RE/MAX Hallmark
214 per cent increase in real estate values since 1996
Toronto, ON (January 12, 2016) – Low interest rates, coupled with population growth and solid economic fundamentals, contributed to a 214 per cent increase in average residential housing values in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) over almost two--decades, according to RE/MAX Hallmark Ltd., one of country’s largest real estate franchises.
The GTA housing market is now entering its 20th year of consecutive price appreciation, on the heels of a record--breaking 2015. The market has reported a steady increase in values since 1996, when the cost of an average home in the GTA hovered at $198,150. Average price broke through the $600,000 benchmark in 2015, settling at $622,217 – an increase of 6.21 per cent when compounded annually over the 19--year period.
“The overall strength and stability of Toronto’s housing market is a global anomaly,” says Ken McLachlan, Broker--Owner, RE/MAX Hallmark Ltd. “Very few large residential housing markets can compete with the GTA’s performance over the past two decades”
When analyzing the level of growth in the Greater Toronto Area, population played a serious role. In 2014, the Toronto CMA topped six million (6,055,724), a figure eight per cent higher than the 2011 Census population of 5,583,064 and a substantial 42 per cent uptick over the 1996 Census figure of 4,263,757.
The low interest rate environment has also influenced home buying activity in the GTA. While the average residential mortgage--lending rate for a five--year term hovered at approximately eight per cent in 1996, the same product can be had for under three per cent in today’s competitive market.
Homeownership rates have also steadily increased in the GTA, in spite of rising values. Between 1996 and 2006, the level of ownership jumped approximately 10 per cent in the GTA (58.4 per cent to 67.6 per cent). The most recent available rates for the province of Ontario sat at 71.4 per cent in 2011.
Given the turbulence the GTA market has withstood –recessions, 9/11, and SARS, just to name a few – the performance is “nothing short of remarkable”, explains McLachlan.
“Moving forward, there is no reason to expect the upward trend to end,” says McLachlan. “In light of recent volatility in the stock market and overall economic uncertainty, we anticipate an upswing in home buying activity as investors look to tangible assets like bricks and mortar to ride out the storm. The strength of the US dollar will also contribute, serving as an impetus for greater investment in the Greater Toronto Area throughout 2016.”
15 11, 2015
WHAT TO CHECK ON YOUR FINAL PURCHASER VISIT
When you purchase a home in Toronto, your Realtor will likely include at least 2 purchaser visits in the agreement of purchase and sale to occur before you close on the property. These visits can be used to make sure furniture fits, bring your family to see your new home, select paint colours, etc. You should plan to do your final purchaser visit a day or two before the closing date to ensure that everything is in order. Your Realtor will attend the purchaser visits with you and can help to answer any questions you might have. Now remember, you don’t own the home yet so there is a good chance that you will see moving boxes scattered around and the place might seem to be in disarray. This is normal (within reason). If your final purchaser visit takes place a day before closing and the house is full of garbage, no furniture has been moved and there is a car in the driveway with no tires on it, your realtor should definitely investigate further as it’s not likely that all of this will be resolved in one night.
Here is a list of things to look for during your final purchaser visit:
• Inspect ceilings, walls and floors for any damage that did not exist at the time you made your offer
• Turn on and off every light switch
• Test heating and air conditioning
• Test any exhaust fans
• Test all appliances
• Open and close all windows
• Test all of the outlets
• Check around all visible piping for leaks
• Run sink and tub water. Flush toilets
• Test the garage door opener
• Check for things that you thought would be included (appliances, light fixtures, etc)
26 10, 2015
We Proudly Offer Complimentary Staging!
Planning to sell your home this Fall? We proudly offer complimentary staging to all of our clients! Take a look at our Before and After Staging Gallery HERE
