Happy New Year Toronto West! Donate Before the Clock Strikes Midnight!

I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Before the clock "strikes midnight", please consider a donation for your favourite organisation. Most donations to various charities are tax deductible, and your generosity could truly make a difference. Through the years my husband and I were lucky enough to be able to contribute financially or as volunteers to the work of the following organisations or charities that I would like you to keep in mind when making a donation.
Do not forget about your local schools either. Many educational institutions are looking for ways to enhance the educational programs they provide to their students. Get in contact with your local schools in order to find out how can you help.
Most Sincerely,
Eva Ballentine

The Redwood Shelter in Toronto provides the emotional, practical and social support that families need to get their lives back on track – they offer free and confidential services in 20 different languages, including assistance to women and children trapped in an abusive home through outreach visits and educational workshops at local schools, libraries, housing co-ops, churches, mosques, and other community gathering places. Over 80% of the women leaving The Redwood do not return to their abusive partners. At The Redwood, thousands of women and children found the way out.

The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) delivers responsive, effective, and valued community-based HIV support services and education, prevention, outreach and fundraising programs that promote the health, well-being, worth and rights of individuals and communities living with, affected by and at risk for HIV/AIDS, and increase awareness of HIV/AIDS.

The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture aids survivors, including children, women and erderly, to overcome the lasting effects of torture and war.

The Perinatal Bereavement Services of Ontario PBSO is a self-help organization committed to supporting parents and their families who have experienced the death of a baby through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, medical termination, stillbirth or neonatal death.

The Canadian Cancer Society is a national community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer.

World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) Conservation Program is tackling some of the most daunting conservation challenges facing the country, as well as the broader international community.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a volunteer-based health charity, leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of healthy living and advocacy.

Oxfam Canada works with allies in Canada and around the world to change the policies and practices that perpetuate human suffering. They support organizations in poor communities overseas in their struggle to secure basic rights. Oxfam's advocacy and campaigns for just policies are rooted in the knowledge and experience gained in that struggle.

The Canadian Red Cross mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) helps to ease the pain of HIV/AIDS in Africa at the grassroots level. It provides care to women who are ill and struggling to survive; assists orphans and other AIDS affected children; supports heroic grandmothers who almost single-handedly care for their orphan grandchildren; and supports associations of people living with HIV/AIDS

The Nunavut Literacy Council promotes literacy and supports literacy initiatives in the four official languages of Nunavut - Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English, and French. Unfortunately there is no online donation but you can contact them directly.

Canada’s House Prices Forecast To Rise By 3.5 Per Cent In 2008; Activity To Moderate

TORONTO, December 17, 2007 – After experiencing an exceptional year characterized by strong average house price appreciation and record breaking unit sales, the momentum from 2007 is anticipated to carry over and position Canada’s real estate market for steady, yet moderate growth in 2008, according to the Royal LePage 2008 Market Survey Forecast released today.

Nationally, average house prices are forecast to rise by 3.5 per cent to $317,288 in 2008, while transactions are projected to fall slightly from this year’s record high unit sales to 500,927 (–4.0 %) unit sales in 2008. Despite the year-over-year reduction in unit sales, the number of homes trading hands in 2008 is expected to remain higher than in all years prior to 2007.

“Canada’s housing market in 2008 should continue to thrive on a balanced diet of strong economic fundamentals, including high levels of employment, resilient consumer confidence, modest levels of inflation and the relatively low cost of borrowing money,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. “Canada is currently enjoying one of the longest housing market expansions in history; however, as we move into 2008 it is anticipated that slowly eroding affordability will cause demand to ease, allowing the market to move toward balanced conditions, with lower levels of price appreciation, and fewer homes trading hands.”

Ontario and Quebec markets are anticipated to maintain their relative strength and vibrancy throughout next year, weathering stormy financial markets and adjusting well to the high value of the Canadian dollar. The services based industries that have become the backbone of the Toronto and Montreal economies have tolerated the rise of Canada’s dollar to parity very well, despite increasingly price competitive offering from overseas markets.

The frenzied pace of price inflation that has characterized the real estate market over the past two years in the resource rich west were unsustainable and should ease substantially in 2008. In Central Canada, price increases peaked in late 2005, and have been moderating since.

From coast-to-coast, the homebuyer demographic is anticipated to swell with first-time purchasers, as many flock to take advantage of recently reduced lending rates, longer amortization periods and the resultant manageable mortgage payments.

Added Soper: “The year ahead presents opportunities for those people who have shied away from the frenetic real estate market of the past few years, with its bidding wars and unconditional offers; while prices should continue to rise, they are expected to do so at a more reasonable pace. Canada’s economy is strong, and the desire for home ownership remains a vibrant and attainable goal – real estate remains a solid long term investment.”

Highlight of 2008 Trends
Strength of the Canadian Dollar
The position of the Canadian dollar hovering at parity will continue to bolster the country’s high consumer confidence, and is anticipated to translate into continued growth in consumer spending. The negative impact of the high dollar on the country’s manufacturing sector for export trade will be mostly felt in Southern Ontario and Quebec; however, both regions are demonstrating considerable resiliency, with a concerted effort by both governments and industry underway to improve productivity and improve international competitiveness.

U.S. Economy
In sharp contrast to the weakening U.S. economy and deteriorating housing market, Canada’s economy and housing market continues to demonstrate staying power. Canadian mortgage products are markedly different from those offered in the U.S., and the sub-prime market makes up a significantly smaller portion of the overall Canadian mortgage market. It is unlikely that the residential real estate industry in Canada will have to endure the kind of sharp correction underway south of the border.

Employment
Employment rates across the country are expected to continue at the current very high levels, driven by the robust energy and general natural resource sectors specifically, and a very healthy services economy in general. In the year ahead, job market growth is anticipated to continue, especially in Regina, Winnipeg and Halifax.

Interest Rates
The move by the Bank of Canada to reduce its overnight target-lending rate by a quarter of a percent in December 2007 will bode well for first-time buyers planning to enter the market in 2008. The relatively low current interest rates, and the possibility that rates could fall even lower in response to moderating inflation and lower rates in the U.S., will continue to attract new buyers to the housing market.

Resales through the roof

TORONTO STAR
2007-11-20 00:00:00.0

By Tony Wong
Business Reporter
If your realtor is driving a fancier car lately, she's got a reason: This is the best year ever for existing home sales in the Toronto area on record.

With six weeks remaining in 2007, resale home sales have already hit an all-time high of 84,994, beating the 84,145 sales set in 2005.

The number represents an unprecedented 10 years of appreciation in the up cycle of the housing market, and the fourth consecutive year where sales breached the 80,000 mark. This is all the more remarkable considering housing sales did not top 50,000 until 1996. In the 1970s and a good part of the '80s, 20,000 to 30,000 sales in the Toronto area was the norm.

The strength of the market, particularly in contrast to the implosion of housing prices in the United States, has befuddled many economists, who had forecast for the second time in at least two years that this year would once again be slower than the one before.

"Generally speaking, it's odd to see a real estate cycle last this long," says Ted Tsiakopoulos, Ontario regional economist for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. "It seems we've reached a new paradigm where low interest rates, low inflation and a steady job market have kept this going a while longer than most people thought."

Other factors at play in 2007 include the introduction of longer-term amortizations in the market, which has allowed new buyers to get a foot in the door, and higher new-home prices that have pushed people back into the resale market, says Tsiakopoulos.

The year-to-date average price of a home is now $374,678, up 6 per cent from $352,807 recorded in the first 11 1/2 months of 2006. Consensus forecasts had been lower, anticipating a 3.5 per cent rise.

Analysts are already saying next year will be slower than 2007, with average price appreciation under 5 per cent.

One concern is that the high loonie is causing a massive loss of manufacturing jobs in Ontario, which may eventually impact the housing market. A new land transfer tax to be implemented by the city of Toronto next year is also expected to have an effect.

However, concern over the high dollar may also cause the Bank of Canada to reduce interest rates, which would boost the market.

"There is a mix of strongly positive economic drivers such as wealth effects from housing and the stock market and still-low interest rates, versus the strongly negative effect of the Canadian dollar," says housing analyst Will Dunning.

Another issue is high debt loads being taken on by families trying to get into the housing market. One of the big reasons for the failure in the U.S. housing market was lax regulation that gave consumers loans they couldn't support. Guidelines are tougher in Canada, but there's no question consumers are taking on greater mortgage debt, leaving them vulnerable to a downturn.

Growth of residential mortgage credit continues to accelerate, according to a study this month by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals. During the past two years, it expanded by an average of $77 billion, or 11.4 per cent, per year. Residential mortgage credit outstanding is forecast to grow by 11.7 per cent in 2007, 9.3 per cent in 2008 and 8.4 per cent in 2009. Total mortgage credit is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2010.


Torstar Syndication Services
Reprinted from Toronto Star, in the "Business" section.

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ONTARIO EXPANDS LAND TRANSFER TAX REFUND PROGRAM

First-time buyers of resale homes to benefit from new tax measure

TORONTO – The McGuinty government is giving all first-time homebuyers a break on land transfer tax by proposing to expand the Land Transfer Tax Refund Program to include purchases of resale homes, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced today.

“Expanding this Land Transfer Tax refund is an important part of our government’s commitment to helping Ontarians buying their first home,” Duncan said.

Effective midnight tonight, first-time buyers of resale homes, as well as newly constructed homes, would be eligible for a refund from the provincial government of up to $2,000 of the Land Transfer Tax paid.

The expanded Land Transfer Tax Refund Program for First-time Homebuyers is part of a package of new tax initiatives announced in the 2007 Fall Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review that would provide $1.4 billion in provincial tax relief for business and people over three years. The government is making strategic investments in people, communities and infrastructure to strengthen Ontario’s economic advantage and help manufacturers and other sectors challenged by current economic conditions.

What Some Of The Most Common Acronyms Mean In Ontario Real Estate?

A

AIC - Appraisal Institute of Canada

AMP - Accredited Mortgage Professional

B

BOMA - Building Owners and Managers Association

C

CAHPI - Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors

CCI - The Canadian Condominium Institute

CCIM - Certified Commercial / Investment Member

CIMBL - Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers & Lenders

CLO - Certified Leasing Officer

CMR - Certified in Marketing of Real Estate

CPM - Certified Property Manager

CRA - Certified Real Estate Appraisal

CRES - Certified Real Estate Specialist

CREA - The Canadian Real Estate Association

CRF - Certified In Real Estate License

E

E&O - Errors and Omissions (Professional liability insurance)

F

FSBO - For Sale By Owner

M

MAI - Member Appraisal Institute

MLS - Multiple Listing Service

MVA - Market Value Appraisal

O

OA-AIC - Ontario Association Appraisal Institute Canada

OREA - Ontario Real Estate Association

R

RECO - Real Estate Council of Ontario

S

SRA - Senior Residential Appraisal