Real Estate Investor News

Housing starts heat up in the GTA

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:19:24 +0000

In a continued sign that the local economy is coming around, housing starts in the GTA last month heated up. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, starts in Toronto rose 19 per cent in April, when compared with the same period last year. In the Oshawa CMA, which includes Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington, starts rose 5 per cent, mainly due to a 42 unit condo apartment project in Clarington.

http://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/44375

Spring housing numbers soar in Durham Region

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:18:49 +0000

There is a flurry of activity in Durham Region’s real estate market. President of the Durham Region Association of Realtors, Christine Marquis says the months of April, May and June are typically busy, and April got the busy season off to a strong start, with home re-sales up 6.5 per cent. Marquis says the average price of a home was over $340,000 last month, which brings the year-to-date average selling price to just over $340,000. Meanwhile, Uxbridge remains one of the most desirable areas, with the average selling price there sitting at $516,000.

http://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/44180

Building permit sales in Oshawa are lagging

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:18:13 +0000

The City of Oshawa is reporting a very solid month of April for building activity. Officials say a total of 126 building permits were sold, up from 103 for the same month last year. The construction value of those permits also rose to just over $26-million. Year-to-date numbers are down though. At this time last year, the city had sold 377 permits, compared with just 310 so far this year, with construction value down roughly 40 percent to just over $48.3-million.

http://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/44346

Whitby building permit sales slowed in April

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:17:26 +0000

Building activity has slowed a bit in Whitby. Officials say last month, a total of 80 building permits were sold, down from 94 in April of last year. However, the construction value of those permits fell just 3 percent to more than $14.7-million. Year-to-date numbers are off a bit as well, with 271 building permits sold so far this year, compared with 326 for the same period in 2011.

http://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/44353

Spring Housing Market Heats Up in Durham Region

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:22:24 +0000

DURHAM REGION, May 7, 2012 – “Sales figures in the Region continue to climb with the temperatures. April saw modest gains of 3% in sales over March with 1,214 sales. This brings our year-to-date sales to 3,755 for the region,” explained Christine Marquis, President of the Durham Region Association of REALTORS®.

The average selling price in Durham Region also increased to $340,820, up 3% from $330,481 last month. This brings our year-to-date average selling price to $330,379. “Durham Region continues to be a very affordable place to live with a variety of housing types and price points to choose from,” adds President Marquis. The highest average prices in the region were seen in Uxbridge with an average selling price of $516,474.

Active listings are up 6.5% in April to 2,056 available re-sale homes compared to 1,932 at the end of March. Oshawa and Clarington have the highest inventory of available homes at 409 and 375 respectively.

The Months of Inventory indicator (MOI) is holding at 2.4 for the Region which means that it would take 2.4 months to sell every home that is currently listed for sale (assuming no additional homes were listed).

High-Rise Waterfront Community is Coming to Whitby

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:04:54 +0000

I was driving by the lake shore in Whitby the other day and wanted to see how the Brookfeild High-Rise Development was going. It looks like they are moving clean fill into the area, and leveling out the area.

If you are not familiar with this project, you should be, as it is going to change the face of the Whitby waterfront area. There are five high-rise condo towers (Approx 17 -27 floors each building)being planned by Brookfield Homes.

Vacancy rate are currently below 1% in Whitby, but with this much product coming on the market in the future, that is going to change.

You can find more details about this project at http://mywhitbyharbour.ca/

Consumers Renting Property Should Beware of Online Scam

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:58:56 +0000

Durham Region, ON – Consumers looking for property to rent should beware of a scam that involves rental properties posted to online classifieds sites and take steps to protect themselves against fraud.

A scam has recently surfaced that concerns non-existent property advertised for rent on online classifieds site such as Kijiji or Craigslist where property details, photos and the name of the REALTOR® listing the property has been scraped from other sites. While this scam has been active in various parts of Canada in the past, it has recently surfaced locally and diminishing inventories of rental properties may result in consumers who are more vulnerable to this kind of fraud.

Christine Marquis, President of the Durham Region Association of REALTORS® describes how the scam works. “The scammer impersonates the REALTOR® by using his or her name to respond to inquiries from prospective renters. The scammer is unavailable to meet the prospective renter in-person at the property and proposes that funds be forwarded to rent the property. The ‘owner’ will, in turn, will make arrangements for someone to meet the renter at the property and hand over the keys. As you can imagine, no one shows up at the property to meet the renter.”

The risk for citizens falling victim to this type of scam becomes greater in markets where there are fewer rental vacancies. When demand is high and vacancies low, consumers may take greater risks to secure a rental situation – risks that they wouldn’t necessarily otherwise take.

Consumers are advised, when using online classifieds websites to ensure all financial transactions take place locally and in person. Sites like Kijiji and Craigslist also provide safety guidance on using the service and maintain a list of common scams on their websites. Consumers who wish to use this type of service to purchase anything are advised to review this information.

City of Oshawa building permit sales decline in March

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:57:12 +0000

March was a bit of a down month for building permit sales in Oshawa. A total of 52 permits were sold last month, compared with 125 for the same period last year. Year-to-date numbers are down as well, from 274 permits sold at this time last year, to just 184 so far this year. Construction values have also dipped by more than 50 percent, to just over $22 million in 2012.

http://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/43216

Authority wants decision on Pickering airport

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:56:45 +0000

DURHAM -- The Greater Toronto Airports Authority wants Transport Canada to make a decision on a Pickering airport.

Toby Lennox, vice-president of corporate affairs and communications for the GTAA, told Durham Region's planning committee the GTAA is looking for some sort of resolution to the issue.

"No matter what we do, we have to invest in Pearson. We've been urging Transport Canada to make a decision on Pickering. A lot of people are waiting," Mr. Lennox said on Tuesday.

Whitby Councillor Joe Drumm said, "At some point of time, we need Pickering."

http://www.durhamregion.com/news/news/article/1333656

401 interchange in Clarington getting a major overhaul

info@durhamrei.ca (Administrator) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:27:11 +0000

It looks like the Holt Road – 401 interchange in Clarington is finally going to be replaced. The Ministry of Transportation is currently conducting a preliminary design study for the project, which will include improvements to Holt Road and the South Service Road. The area is expected to get very busy in the near future with construction of the OPG training centre well underway, construction of the energy from waste facility about to begin and the possibility of expansion at the Darlington Nuclear Station.

http://www.durhamradionews.com/archives/42961