thinkToronto
Spacing magazine invites people “” 35 years old or younger “” with creative ideas on how to improve Toronto’s public space to take part in thinkToronto, an urban design ideas competition that will help celebrate the magazine’s 5th anniversary in December 2008. Architects, urban planners, landscape architects, designers, artists, students, and the urban curious are […]

Here’s the latest Fast Facts update from the SFAR. Updates are provided almost weekly and each week is a different sector of the market (ie. Condos, Single Family Homes, 2-4 unit dwellings, etc.).
Check back next week for more statistics.

Fast Facts
 
 

Single Family Homes

District 1

April 2007

April 2008

Number of Sales

19

22

Median Selling Price

1,160,000

1,267,500

Average DOM

28

44

District 2

April 2007

April 2008

Number of Sales

36

36

Median […]

Occasionally, I like to invite a guest blogger to share some insights about their field of expertise. Sometimes it’s about San Francisco real estate, and sometimes, it’s just about stuff that San Franciscans care about. Today’s guest blogger is Chris Connors of San Francisco’s Design Solutions, a team of Certified Green Building Professionals. He’s been […]

Below is a table showing the current posted mortgage interest rates in the GTA plus “Best Rates” offered by some lenders. Rates are excellent again, not at historic lows, but close, see graph of historic mortgage interest rates

Term
PostedRates
BestRates*

6 Month
7.00%
4.99%

1 Year
6.95%
4.74%

2 Year
7.00%
4.79%

3 Year
7.00%
4.89%

4 Year
6.85%
5.14%

5 Year
7.00%
5.15%

7 Year
7.35%
5.29%

10 Year
7.75%
5.79%

Variable Rate
4.15%

Prime Rate
4.75%

Rates are subject to change, some conditions & […]

Canadian housing starts strength is timely U.S. focus shifts to “how deep, how long?”
Canadian economic data did not disappoint this week, far from it. For starters, total building permits shot back above 230,000 units in February after trending mostly down […]

Your Needs and Wants
A good place to start your search for a new home is to prepare a detailed ‘wish list’ — and then make a comparison of your wants or wishes and your needs or what you must have. For example:
Needs

near schools
four bedrooms
attached garage
close to bus route
large garden

Wants

swimming pool
horse facilities
three car garage
view of the […]

I had written before about the Home Price Comparison Index compiled by Coldwell Banker Real Estate that allows one to approximate how much your home might cost in different areas around the U.S.
For instance, here in Seattle, $800K-900K might buy you a 100-year old house in a nice in-city neighborhood with 1800 […]

As a disclaimer, before I start ranting in this post, I must say that I am not a fan of the Case Shiller Index.  It’s not that I disagree with their statistics, or their method of collecting data or whatnot.  In a previous post, I noted that:
 …the thing that makes me think the numbers are […]

In honor of National Tourism Week many of Knoxville’s attractions offered free admission on this past Saturday, May 10th. The majority of these attractions are free every day but some have an admission charge so it was a good day to have a family outing with little expense. Admission free was: Armstrong-Lockett House: […]

Doors Open Toronto
The City of Toronto is presenting its the 9th annual Doors Open Toronto on the weekend of May 24 and 25 when up to 150 buildings of architectural, historic, cultural and social significance open their doors to the public for a city-wide celebration.
The program allows visitors free access to properties that are either […]