Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,567 sales through the TorontoMLS® system in January 2012. This number was 8.8 per cent higher than the 4,199 sales reported in January 2011. Sales growth was strongest for low-rise home types in the regions surrounding the City of Toronto.

“A favourable affordability picture bolstered by very low posted fixed mortgage rates has kept home buyers confident in their ability to achieve the Canadian goal of home ownership,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver.

“The buyer pool remains diverse in the GTA with strong interest in home types across the pricing spectrum,” continued Silver.

The average selling price for January 2012 transactions was $463,534 – up by almost nine per cent compared to January 2011.

“Low inventory levels have kept competition between buyers strong, resulting in robust annual rates of price growth over the last year. Strong price growth is expected to attract more listings. A better supplied market should result in a slower rate of price growth, especially in the second half of 2012,” said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

I believe there has never been a better time to buy a home. I haven’t seen so many positive signs for housing, whether you are thinking of buying or locking in a mortgage.

Here’s why:

Mortgage rates at historic lows: They can’t get any lower. Four to five-year fixed mortgages at 3 per cent are unheard of. It is lower than the variable rate that most Canadians have been paying for years. Rates have nowhere to go but up, either later this year or next. If you are paying a variable interest rate, lock in now.

Canada’s appeal: This country has everything going for it — a stable banking and political environment, steady real estate market, the natural resources people want and few social tensions. That makes us a safe haven in a volatile world.

Our immigrant draw: Because of the above, we’re a draw for immigrants, often wealthy ones. When they get here, they need a home. So in my view while the real estate market may level off in some areas of Ontario, it should stay strong in most of the GTA and likely Canada’s other large urban centres as well.

Mortgage defaults: According to CMHC, over 99 per cent of Canadians pay their mortgages on time. It's quite a different picture in the U.S. where 7 million homes are in foreclosure and perhaps another 7 million homeowners are under water. This represents almost 15 per cent of all homes. So while the American housing market will likely be weak for the next few years, this should not occur in Canada. Our banks are not dumping homes onto the market, so there is no downward pressure on prices.

Recourse Mortgages: In many U.S. states, if you can’t pay your mortgage, the only thing the bank can do is foreclose; they cannot sue you for any shortfall. So when homes go under water, owners give the keys back to the bank. In Canada, loans are almost all Recourse, meaning if you don’t pay and there is a shortfall, the lender can sue you for the difference. This is another reason why, in my opinion, even if times do get tough, Canadian homeowners will find a way to make the payments until things improve.

Income-to-price ratio: Another misleading statistic is that in major markets, like Toronto, the average price of a home is now 4.6 times the income of the average Canadian. This same statistic was found just before the U.S. and UK markets went into the tank. However, if you look at median incomes of Canadians against the median cost of homes, this average comes down to around 3.5, which is not dangerous. Using averages are wrong. A person receiving social assistance will not buy a home, and should not be included in any relevant statistic.

High consumer debt: The warnings about rising debt ratios must be examined carefully. The Governor of the Bank of Canada is worried that the average personal debt ratio is now 156 per cent in Canada. This means a household making $100,000 per year, owes $156,000, two-thirds of which is mortgage debt. Why is this so bad? At an interest rate of 3 or even 5 per cent, the amount needed to service the debt is manageable. Most people do not pay off their mortgages in one year. Still, this is another good reason to consolidate your debt now, at these low interest rates, and lock in.

No guarantees: Nobody can predict the future and there’s always the possibility of a major economic shock. Yet, in a U.S. presidential election year, politicians will do whatever is necessary to prevent it. If the economy goes into the tank, so do re-election chances. The U.S. is already showing signs of economic recovery.

No matter what, do not take on a monthly payment higher than what you can afford. Meet with your lender or mortgage broker in advance to figure out what you can afford before you start looking for a home. It may be the best time to buy, but you need to buy smart.

Source:  Mark Weisleder in Moneyville.ca.

This recent Press Release was distributed to local media. We are excited to be offering this product to our customers as part of the real estate transaction. You can get more information on our website by clicking here.

As part of our launch, EA Canada is offering 2 month rebate for the first year when you sign up through our website by clicking here

On February 15 we will conduct a draw to award a FREE 1 year home protection package. You are automatically registered by going to our Facebook page and clicking the "like" button on the main page. Go to www.facebook.com/keithwilliamsteam

The Royal LePage Regional House Price Survey was released yesterday, the largest and most comprehensive study of it's kind in Canada. This release highlights an abbreviated version of the study involving 80 communities across the country. Click the link below to see what Royal LePage predicts for the 2012 housing market in Canada.

Royal LePage House Price Survey (Q4)

Also in the news today, the Bank of Montreal made history by pegging it's 5 year fixed mortgage rate at a whopping 2.99%, the lowest that rate as ever been in Canada.

We posted an update on the move by BMO that you can read by clicking Here.

The Durham Real Estate Centre Team is proud to announce it's now offering the EA Canada Home Assurance Program as an added benefit to our Home Sellers and Buyers; helping our clients to purchase and sell homes with a higher degree of confidence.

Europe Assistance Canada is the company you've never heard about yet it offers Travel Assistance, Health Assistance and Home & Family Assistance in over 200 countries and employs a staff of 7,000 utilizing approximately 420,000 service providers world-wide.

In Canada they now offer their Home Assurance Program and we were more than impressed with the competitive features (consumer friendly) they offered over and above other players in the industry.

I bought a plan myself, just to be real about this. The benefits we were thrilled with include:

• No Contract
• Portable - take it with you to your next home
• Cancel anytime
• A multitude of single and bundled plans
• Minimal wait times and much more

Though huge, this company walks the talk and has surpassed our expectations!

To help increase awareness we will be holding a Facebook Competition to award a 1 year FREE plan to a lucky winner (details coming) and EA Canada is offering a 2 Month Premium Rebate to any customer who enrolls in the plan (details shortly) through our website or Facebook Page during this promotion.

You can click on their logo above to research information on the plans and the company and to view frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the plan.

We've had a fantastic experience with this company and hope you'll check them out. I would be appreciative of any comments you may have!

Two charts that go hand-in-hand are the Monthly Re-Sale Home Price Comparison (3 years running for comparison purposes) and the Home Price Affordability Indicator that shows how much of the average Canadian's income is going toward housing costs.

As seen below, housing prices have steadily increased however the affordability has remained fairly consistent in the 30 to 35 per cent range. Both charts owe their success to the current low interest rate environment. This will remain as long as world economic activity remains fragile.

Eventually, things will pick up and you'll hear it in the news. When output and hiring eventually rev up, expect interest rates and your carrying costs to increase. This is why Canada's Finance Minister and Bank of Canada Governor are saying "get your financial house in order now," so that when the inevitable rate increases come, you can absorb the higher rates when your mortgage renews. Good advice.

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,718 transactions through the TorontoMLS® system in December 2011. The December result capped off the second-best year on record under the current Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) boundaries. Total sales for 2011 amounted to 89,347 – up four per cent in comparison to 2010.

“Low borrowing costs kept Buyers confident in their ability to comfortably cover their mortgage payments along with other major housing costs,” said TREB President Richard Silver. “If Buyers had not been constrained by a shortage of listings over the past 12 months, we would have been flirting with a new sales record in the Greater Toronto Area,” added Silver.

The average selling price in December was $451,436 – up four per cent compared to December 2010. For all of 2011, the average selling price was $465,412, an increase of eight per cent in comparison to the average of $431,276 in 2010.

“Months of inventory remained below the pre-recession norm in 2011. Very tight market conditions meant substantial competition between Buyers and strong upward pressure on selling prices,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

“TREB’s baseline forecast for 2012 is for an average price of $485,000, representing a more moderate four per cent annual rate of price growth. This baseline view is subject to a heightened degree of risk given the uncertain global economic outlook,”

A good friend and client of ours creates beautiful urn inserts and centerpieces for the holidays! Her prices are extremely reasonable (about half the cost). Urn inserts are only $60. Centrepieces are less.

To email Karen directly click:

meyerfam@andrewswireless.net

If you prefer to call or speak with Karen directly just let me know and we'll put you in touch with her!

Recently we decided to dig into the reports and marketing data to see if it supported our feeling that winter is the best time to buy, and the worst time to sell. However, when we got the results we discovered that our assumptions were dead wrong.

As we roll through the holidays and into winter, many would-be sellers will be holding off on listing their home, waiting for the spring "selling season" to put their home on the market. But if you're ready to sell your home now, is waiting until spring the best strategy? Not according to the data, it isn't.

We pulled a year's worth of data on three quarters of a million homes listed across the country and analyzed sales statistics by season. Here's what we found:

• Homes listed in winter sell faster: 46 days in winter vs. 55 days in summer

• Homes listed in winter are more likely to sell: 59.2% sell in winter vs. 53.1% sell in summer

• Homes listed in winter sell closest to their original price: a 2.7% drop from the final price in winter vs. a 5.2% drop from the final price in summer, worth more than $7,000 on a $300,000 home

Homes listed in winter sell best.
Yup, you read that right: Overall, homes listed in winter sell best. 5.8% more homes listed in winter eventually sell (compared to the overall percentage of homes listed throughout the year), and they sell 1.4 percentage points closer to their original list price than the median---that's $4,900 on a $350,000 home.
Spring wins in one category: Speed. Homes listed in spring sell the fastest, sitting on the market for 15% less time than the median. Winter comes in second in this category though, at six percent below the median, while homes listed in summer and fall both sell slower than the median (12% and 16%, respectively).

(Thanks to Blackwater Consulting Group and REDFIN blog for publishing this information so we could share it with you.)

This announcement just came off the news wires and illustrates the consolidation taking place in the real estate industry. Brookfield is the parent company of Royal LePage. This acquisition creates a powerhouse of 80,000 agents in 2,800 brokerage locations around the world. It also creates the world's second largest relocation company.

BROOKFIELD RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY SERVICES ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF PRUDENTIAL REAL ESTATE AND RELOCATION SERVICES
Acquisition creates global residential real estate and employee relocation services leader

(Toronto, ON) December 6, 2011 - Today Brookfield Residential Property Services (“Brookfield”), a Brookfield Asset Management Inc. affiliate, announced that it has purchased Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (“PRERS”), a recognized leader in employee relocation and real estate franchising from Prudential Financial, Inc.  Prudential Relocation Services operates as Pricoa Relocation in Asia and Europe.

The addition of PRERS to Brookfield’s existing residential real estate franchising and employee relocation services businesses establishes Brookfield as the world’s second largest employee relocation services provider and the third largest residential real estate franchising business.

Under a licensing agreement, Prudential Real Estate brokerage affiliates will be able to continue to use the Prudential brand based on the terms of their franchise agreements. 

“This transaction creates a global employee relocation services and real estate franchising leader,” explained Graham Badun, CEO, Brookfield Residential Property Services. “We have now increased the breadth and depth of our service offering, keeping pace with the evolving needs of our clients around the world.”

A North American & Global Leader

Through its various brands, Brookfield’s residential real estate franchisees are now present in all 50 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and Portugal, with a network of approximately 80,000 real estate agents, 2,800 real estate brokerage locations and more than $150 billion in annual residential real estate transactions.

U.S.-based Brookfield Global Relocation Services moves nearly 85,000 families in and out of over 125 countries around the world each year. With the acquisition, more than one-third of Fortune 100 companies are its clients.  In addition, Brookfield is now the largest provider of relocation services to government, with long term relationships with the U.S. and Canadian governments. 

The acquisition greatly strengthens Brookfield’s existing U.S. business and results in the expansion of its operations in nine countries, with a rapidly growing presence in China, Brazil and India.

“Today, Prudential’s real estate and relocation services businesses join a global company with a track record of over 100 years of success,” said Earl Lee, President of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services. “We’re excited to become part of a company that is focused on and deeply immersed in the real estate sector and is in the business for the long-term.”

Earl Lee will continue to lead the U.S. real estate business, and Rick Schwartz, President, Brookfield Global Relocation Services, will assume responsibility for the combined global relocation services business.

Brookfield’s parent company, Brookfield Asset Management, is a global asset manager with approximately $150 billion in assets under management.  Brookfield is co-listed on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges under the symbol BAM and on NYSE Euronext under the symbol BAMA.

About Brookfield Residential Property Services 
Brookfield Residential Property Services is a leading global provider of real estate and relocation services, analytics and knowledge.  The company’s portfolio consists of leading brands, including Brookfield Global Relocation Services, the second largest provider of global relocation services, Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Brookfield Real Estate Services, Royal LePage, Real Living, Via Capitale and Centract.  Through its real estate brands, it has nearly 80,000 real estate professionals in more than 2,800 locations, who transact over $150 billion annually.  Its global footprint spans North America, the United Kingdom, France, China, Singapore, India, Brazil and Australia, and includes more than 2,500 employees worldwide.  It is a division of Brookfield Asset Management, a global asset manager with approximately $150 billion of assets under management.