Noir Condos by Menkes will be located in the heart of the Entertainment District at King and Peter.  It’s black-on-black with white accents will definitely make this building stand out from other neighbourhood condos like Peter Street Condos, Tableau Condos, The Bond, Cinema Tower and Studio2 once completed.

Contact me to get on the VIP list or for more information.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) just released information indicating national resale housing activity retreated in January 2012 from the strong finish reported for December 2011.

Sales activity recorded through the MLS Systems of real estate Boards and Associations in Canada fell 4.5 per cent from December 2011 to January 2012. This marks the first monthly decline in national activity since August 2011 and the biggest monthly decline since July 2010. The monthly decline reversed a string of monthly increases over the closing months of last year, and returned national activity to where it stood at the end of the third quarter of 2011.

Activity was down in over half of all local markets in January from the previous month. Led by declines in Greater Toronto and Montreal, demand also softened in a number of other major urban centres including the Fraser Valley, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Greater Vancouver.

New listings were also down a seasonally adjusted 4.3 per cent across the GTA, as the low inventory of new resale properties on the market continues to be a problem, especially in the 416 regions of Toronto.

That helped drive up the average house price across the GTA by 3.8 per cent just from December to January to $486,654, according to CREA.

The average GTA home was worth about 8.5 per cent more in January than over the same period a year ago, the statistics show.

Introducing Edition Richmond, a one-of-a-kind fusion of art and opulence. This series of new Toronto residences, located at 850 Richmond St. West in historic Trinity Bellwoods area, offers urban serenity just steps away from the character of Queen West and expansive park greenery. Each of the twenty homes have been designed by the award-winning firm, Cecconi Simone.  Some of which feature sky yards, a master bedroom complete with a 5-piece ensuite and walk-in closets, from just over 1000 sq.ft. and up to 2,000 sq.ft. of living space. These homes embody the definition of style and comfort.    Available condos/townhouses start at $599,999. The project has a total of 20 units.

Contact me for more information.

Abacus Lofts offers oversized, livable lofts with terraced balconies and a green roof.  These units have a bold, striking architecture complimented
by fine crafted interiors.

Abacus boasts floor-to-ceiling windows with sliding doors open to the balcony and terraces, which all have gas BBQ connections.  There’s exposed concrete ceilings, custom-designed kitchen cabinetry, stone or quartz surfaced counter tops and European appliances.

Centrally located in Toronto’s west downtown, Abacus is right on the Dundas West streetcar line.  You can be in the downtown core within 15 minutes.   Located within walking distance to eclectic College Street with its fine dining, coffee shops and interesting stores and the Rua Acores shopping district on Dundas Street West.

Priced from the mid $200,000′s all the way up to $700,000.

Contact me for more information.

Nero Condos in Dundas Street West combines a mix of condos, 2-storey loft style units, and larger townhomes with only 98 total units available. The condos range from studios at 400 sq ft up to 2 bedroom and den suites at just over 1000 sq ft. The 2-storey lofts range from 891 sq ft up to 1394 sq ft, and the 3-bedroom townhomes range from 1567 sq ft to 1774 sq ft!

Nero’s striking architectural design is by RAW Design, well known for their stunning designs of Cube Lofts in Little Italy, Motif (Queen and Ossington), and the new BMW MINI dealership on Eastern Avenue.

Pricing for starts at approx. $530 per square foot.

Picasso occupies one of the most significant sites in downtown Toronto. Situated at the foot of Beverly Street, and at the head of Widmer Street, along the north side of Richmond, the building will be seen as an urban icon in relation to other landmark downtown buildings.

The completed condominium will offer a unique residential environment in downtown Toronto. Owners will have living spaces that project out over the city, retail spaces and amenities at their fingertips, and spectacular views for a highly cultured, sophisticated urban living experience.

That experience begins in the contemporary open-air lobby, which recreates an art gallery ambience with light coloured iridescent surfaces enhanced by flashes of indirect light. Attentive concierge service will be provided from this striking space. Picasso’s 10th floor is amenity heaven, with a chic party lounge featuring floor-to-ceiling windows that provide an ever-changing seasonal display as a background. This floor also includes a bar and lounge areas, billiards room, yoga and fitness studio, media lounge, dining room, spa and sauna areas. And just imagine continuing the party with a moonlit stroll on the spacious outdoor terrace, which has cabanas and a walk-up deck to a hot-water oasis – all in the midst of panoramic city and lake views. Suites will surround owners in luxurious features and finishes.

Contact me to get on the VIP list now.

Lifetime Developments and Centrecourt Developments present Karma Condos.

Karma Condos will be a sleek new tower located at 21 Grenville Street (Yonge and College) and designed by architects Alliance. The building will have approx. 10 units per floor and at least 46 storeys.

As the developer site says,  nothing else compares to Karma Condominiums. Everything you’ve ever wanted from upscale living in downtown Toronto; floor to ceiling windows, engineered wood floors throughout the residences, contemporary bathrooms with deep soak tubs and large showers. Just  steps away from the Yonge subway and streetcar.

Contact me for more info.

The Toronto Real Estate Board mid-month August reports states there were 3,214 sales through the Toronto MLS  system during the first 14 days of August, representing more than a 22.5 per cent increase compared to the same period in August 2010.  Year-to-date sales through the 14th of August were all but caught up to last year’s total – down by half a per cent compared to 2010.

“The unsettled situation in financial markets over the past few weeks did not appear to sap the confidence of GTA home buyers during the first half of August,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President. “Revised forecasts for future Bank of Canada interest rate decisions coupled with the recent announcement by the US Federal Reserve, suggest that interest rate hikes in Canada are on hold at least until sometime in 2012. This is a positive for affordability and should help sustain buyer confidence moving forward.”

The average selling price was up by almost seven percent annually during the first 14 days of August to $440,150.

“The rate of price growth reported for the first two weeks of August continued to point to sellers’ market conditions in the GTA,” said  TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “However, it should be noted that new listings grew at a slightly greater pace than sales. A better supplied market in the second half of 2011 will result in prices growing at a more sustainable pace.”

The Royal Bank just released a report indicating that the Canadian housing market is making a transition to a much slower pace of growth as compared to rates seen in the previous ten years.

The report states home resales are expected to grow by 0.9 per cent this year and remain unchanged in 2012, while home prices will increase by 4.4 per cent this year and only 0.4 per cent in 2012.

The global recession as well as domestic policy shifts have led to these changes which included a drop in interest rates, mortgage rule changes and the introduction of the HST in Ontario and British Columbia.

At the provincial level, RBC forecasts that the Alberta market will post the strongest growth in home sales this year and next, while it expects a modest decline in Quebec.  As for what this means for Ontario homeowners considering buying or selling in the next 12 months…..stay tuned.

Excellent article from moneyville.ca on knowing the rules when involved in a bidding war.  Multiple offers or bidding wars continue to happen all over the GTA. Buyers, sellers and real estate agents need to be aware of what to expect. The rules may be different, depending on whether you are selling your home through a real estate agent, or privately.

To create the atmosphere for multiple offers, it may indicate on the MLS listing that interested offers are to be submitted in three days. The seller hopes this will give many buyers the opportunity to visit the property during the three-day period and that this will result in multiple offers.

However, there is nothing stopping someone from delivering an offer immediately. The seller’s agent is under an ethical obligation to bring every offer to the seller’s attention. The seller then has the right to deal with the offer, if they want to.

Most sellers will instruct their agent to tell this anxious buyer to wait until the proper time period. However, if the seller wants to consider the offer, their agent will then change the information on the MLS listing immediately to notify every other agent that the rules have changed, and that offers can be submitted that evening. The agent will also likely call every other agent who has expressed an interest in the property to tell them personally that offers can now be brought immediately.

When a buyer agent has a signed offer, they will usually call the listing agent office to register their offer verbally. There is a protocol that has been established in Toronto that if you were the first to register your offer, you will be given the first opportunity to present it to the seller in person, if there is more than one offer. This is just a protocol, and does not have to be followed by every real estate firm.

However, an offer is not completed unless it is communicated to the seller or seller’s agent, either by personal delivery, fax or email. Therefore, a buyer can still cancel their offer at any time before it is communicated. That is why an offer might be registered but never delivered. The buyer changed his or her mind.

Why can’t we have a silent auction? When buyers make offers through an agent, the agent has an ethical obligation not to disclose the contents of any offer to any of the other buyers. A seller agent can only tell all other bidders how many offers were received. They cannot tell the price or identity associated with any of the offers. However, a private seller could take one buyer offer and just show it to another bidder. This is one of the main reasons private sellers have trouble creating bidding wars.

By understanding the bidding war rules, buyers and sellers can be better prepared for this extremely stressful negotiation.