Author Archives for Stephen Pryce

Canoe Landing Park in CityPlace!

Canoe Landing Community Recreation Centre Canoe Landing Child Care Centre Bishop Macdonell Catholic Elementary School, serving 550 children from kindergarten to grade eight Jean Lumb Public School, serving 550 children from kindergarten to grade eight Multi-functional event and market space facing the park, to be operated by a non-profit organization This integrated multi-use facility will help ensure that families living in CityPlace and the surrounding high-density neighbourhoods will have access to the amenities and services necessary for a thriving, liveable, equitable community. For families in condos and apartments, the park is your back yard, and the community centre is your living room. Through public meetings and working group meetings in 2015 and 2016, the facility was designed in close collaboration with the community in order to respond to the particular needs and desires in a vertical neighbourhood. For example, to make the best use... View Article

King Street Transit Pilot

Take a look at the attached pdf. I’m not a big fan of this project but who knows, maybe it will work out. Side streets will see a heavier traffic burden, this will be a problem considering delivery trucks use those streets the most to deliver cargo. My other observation is bikes! Cars will have to turn right at every street corner, will this be problem for bicyclists and vehicles at those corners? I hope the city will be monitoring the amount of accidents that happen over this time period in the pilot area.   King_Street_Brochure_Oct11_1_

Market Watch – Condos are king!

The condo market is outperforming other segments of the housing market! The reason for this is tighter supply and a more focused interest from consumers. The rest of the market is more balanced with semi-detached and townhouses performing quite well! Looking around our great city I’ve noticed vacant lots disappearing and cranes going up. This city will continue to grow for a very long time.  There are some very exciting condo projects that will start in the next few years that will change our skyline. The Mirvish/Gehry Project will completely redefine King Street West as will The One at Yonge and Bloor. Move over 1 Bloor East you won’t be the tallest building on the block!

Market Watch – Condo’s are the big performer!

The big performer are condos! 21.4% year over year average price! The average price for a condo in the “416 area code” is $540,169. I have noticed condo leases are more competitive and landlords are not as willing to negotiate since the new rent control rules have come into effect that now covers all rentals units in Ontario. Semi-detached, townhouse/row are holding their own! Semi-detached homes 12.1% year over year and townhouse/row 8.9% year over year! Detached houses have squeaked out a 0.3% year over year average. Maybe detached house prices have hit the ceiling for affordability? Maybe buyers are sitting on the fence waiting to see how much of the detached homes market will cool? Time will tell. No one owns a  crystal ball and only you know when the time is right to buy or sell. Always use... View Article

Spray-on insulation a highway for termites, experts warn

Spray foam insulations are a popular construction material, but as home renovation season ramps up some exterminators are warning that the puffy stuff lining your walls could be a speedway for hungry termites seeking out wood. The foam insulations create a dense, sponge-like environment that can save energy and lower utility bills, but also allows creepy crawlers to tunnel their way towards wooden beams and frames that could be holding up your house. Margaret Bryce is facing a $20,000 repair job after she had spray foam insulation installed around a wooden beam as well as under her house several years ago. “It’s incredible, isn’t it?” she said, picking up a piece of termite-damaged wood that crumbled in her hand. The block, she said, was once a supporting beam. “I had no idea that termites enjoyed the comfort of spray foam.” GTA termite infestations on the... View Article

Toronto-area home sale prices expected to rise 13-18% this year: TREB

The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) has issued a new 13- to 18-per-cent forecast for home sale prices this year as the month-to-month average cost of a Toronto-area home fell again in June — down about 8 per cent, or $69,995, to $793,915 from May’s average. The average selling price was still 6.3 per cent higher year over year, said the board. The number of resale home listings continued to increase last month — up 15.9 per cent compared to June 2016. But that was lower than the 49-per cent surge in supply that occurred in May. At the start of this year, TREB had been predicting an annual 10- to 16-per-cent price growth — between $800,000 and $850,000. The new forecast puts the average price between $825,000 and $860,000, in part because of strong gains in the first four... View Article

New Listing! 2269 Lake Shore Blvd. W. Unit 2203

Large bright quiet 1282sqft unit. Lovely views of the city and lakefront. Large bedrooms and bathrooms make for a perfectly balanced unit! Oversized bathroom! Huge walk-in closet. Built-in murphy bed and desk! Updated contemporary kitchen. Lots of upgrades throughout the building! Phase 3 exclusive use of sky lounge on the 34th floor: fantastic views and amenities. The Malibu Club offers a host of recreational/sport utilities. The waterfront is at your doorstep!   To view this listing click here: MLS#:W3860034

Ontario proposes banning real estate agents from representing seller and buyer

Ontario is proposing banning the practice of double ending, in which a real estate agent represents both a buyer and a seller in a transaction. The province’s Liberal government announced a 16-point housing plan earlier this year, with centrepiece planks of a 15 per cent foreign buyer tax and expanded rent controls. Another plank was reviewing the rules for real estate agents to ensure consumers are fairly represented. The government has now published several proposals for changes to real estate agent rules and penalties, and is seeking public consultation on them. One of the proposals is to ban – with some limited exceptions – agents from representing both the buyer and seller or more than one potential buyer in a trade. “The seller will want the highest possible price and most favourable terms they can get, and the buyer will... View Article

Market Update Mid June

In the Freehold market new listings have eased off nearly 13% from last week down from 401 to 350 this week.  Almost the entire decline in listings occurred in the central core where new listings declined from 196 to 148 which interestingly is on par with the new listings from the same week last year which were 147. Last year was not a year with an abundance of listings so it is interesting to note that we have not seen a flood of properties to the market.  Sales also continued to decline down to 148 from 167 the previous week. The number of properties that sold over their advertised continued to decrease with 52% selling above the listed price. The condo market saw an increase in new listings over last week with 367 new listings coming to market compared to... View Article

Borrowers beware: Bank of Canada may hike rates this year