Casey Ragan

With 7,806 transactions recorded last month, the resale housing market continued at a moderate pace in July.

In the City of Toronto the average price of $395,342, 10 per cent from the July 2006 figure of $360,409.

Certain neighbourhoods throughout the GTA experienced increased sales activity in July.

The Annex experienced a 29 per cent sales increase due to strong detached home and condominium apartment sales.

In addition to stable prices, the list to sale price ratio, at 98 per cent, remains unchanged from a year ago.

While homeowners continue to see healthy returns, it is taking slightly longer to achieve a sale; the average time on market has increased to 33 days compared to 31 days a year ago. This may be due to that fact that there is now more choice available to homebuyers; there are currently 26,543 active listings, a 28 per cent increase from a year ago.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty assured reporters that there is no bubble in the Canadian housing sector. The government says it is taking a responsible and measured approach to ensure Canada's housing market remains strong and to reduce the risk of a U.S. style housing bubble developing in Canada.

The government will fix the maximum amortization period for new government-backed mortgages at 35 years, and will require a minimum down payment of five per cent on new mortgages. It will also require a consistent minimum credit score requirement, and introduce new loan documentation standards for those applying for a mortgage.

The rules are set to take effect on Oct. 15 of this year, and apply only to new mortgages that require government-backed mortgage insurance.

The insurance is currently required on all loans where the down payment is less than 20 per cent of the purchase price of the home. The insurance protects mortgage lenders from losses if the borrower defaults. The government's federal housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., is the largest provider of mortgage insurance in the country, but the government also backs private mortgage insurers.

It's speculated that the moves are intended to keep borrowers from getting in over their heads, but also to protect taxpayers from massive payouts on mortgage insurance policies.

The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals says that mortgage loans longer than 25 years represent about nine per cent of the market. The longer-term mortgages, which have only been available in Canada for a few years, were credited with helping to sustain the long housing boom that saw record sales levels until this year. Sales across the country have now cooled to more traditional levels, but in most parts of the country, prices continue to appreciate.

For more real estate news visit my resource centre at http://www.thecondolife.com/condo_resources.html.

You are ready to make your first real estate purchase, but is a condo right for you?

Affordability and Location

First determine what you can afford.

Housing costs are now more than the traditional 25 to 30 per cent of household income, so ensure your budget can accommodate this and the monthly condo fee. Consider the building itself - will you use all those amenities (pool, gym, etc.) you're paying for, which increase the monthly fee? Location, location, location is the best rule. Think long term and consider resale value.

Monthly fees

Know what you're buying and paying for. Owners are required to pay a monthly common-element fee, which covers the building's carrying costs and maintenance, and is set by the board. Different legal structures of condos give owners different obligations and have different costs involved. In many new condos, owners may have more control over utilities.


Financial stability

If you are buying an existing condo, have your lawyer review the financial statements (also known as the status certificate) to ensure the condominium is financially stable, without a deficit. Does a surplus exist for surprise expenses? Is there a current Reserve Fund Study, which is like a long-term budget indicating major repairs in the future? Is there a history of special assessments?

For more valuable information for first-time buyers, visit www.TheCondoLife.com.

It is the first Trump property of its kind to be built outside of the continental United States and the first of its kind in Canada.

The $500-million Trump International Hotel & Tower, Toronto will be the tallest, mixed-use residential and hotel building in Canada at 68 stories and 308.45 meters/1,012 feet. Located at the corner of Bay and Adelaide Streets in the heart of downtown Toronto, it will overlook Lake Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area.

Donald J. Trump, who is known throughout the world for his luxurious real estate developments, will operate and manage the condominium residences and hotel. The building was designed by Eberhard Zeidler, Senior Partner for the renowned Toronto-based firm of Zeidler Partnership Architects.

The building has two distinct sections. A luxurious hotel will comprise the lower portion of the building from floors lobby to 34, while the condominium residences overlook the city from floors 36 to 68 and offer one-bedroom units to three-bedroom penthouses. All residents will have access to the exclusive benefits and amenities of the five-star hotel. Both the hotel and residential condominium will have incomparable decor, privacy and service.

The hotel suites are available for purchase by individuals or corporations. The hotel offers 229 hotel guestrooms and suites, of which 34 suites are part of the exclusive Trump Club that will feature butler service and a private lounge.

The condominium residences will feature formal dining and living areas, exquisite hardwoods and granites, top-of-the-line appliances in designer kitchens, and the finest features and finishes available. There will be a maximum of four residences per floor. High-speed elevators will offer direct access to each residence from the Residential Skylobby that overlooks downtown Toronto from the 34th floor.

The Trump International Hotel & Tower, Toronto will also feature a world-class 1,672.3-square-meter/18,000-square-foot Health Club & Spa with views of Lake Ontario and the CN Tower. The spa will offer treatments and services that are only found in the world's leading health resorts. The facility will also contain two restaurants and a sushi and martini bar. One of the restaurants will be an exclusive, formal, fine dining establishment seating only 80 patrons and led by an international, award-winning chef.

The building will be an integral part of Toronto's PATH system, the 27-kilometer underground shopping, dining and entertainment concourse that connects downtown Toronto. This is the first time in an entire generation that a residential complex of such grandeur, scope and design will be built in the heart of downtown Toronto.

The Trump International Hotel & Tower, Toronto is a joint venture between Donald J. Trump and Talon International Development Inc., a Canadian-based investment company whose shareholders have holdings in a variety of industries ranging from shipping to metallurgy to high technology throughout Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

For more toronto condo news visit www.TheCondoLife.com.

The winners of the fourth annual Pug Awards were recently announced. The Pug awards are given to Toronto's newest architecture. Torontonians voted online, to rank Toronto's best, and newest architectural condo developments. To qualify, buildings had to be completed in 2007, be located in the city of Toronto, and have an area greater than 50,000 sq. ft. or be considered noteworthy by the Pug Awards Advisory Board.

The complete voting results for all the buildings nominated are as follows:

Rank

1. Argyle Lofts

2. Broadview Lofts

3. Residences of College Park 1

4. The Met

5. 533 Richmond

6. 20 Stewart

7. Spire

8. One City Hall

9. 22 Condominiums

10. Windemere by the Lake

11. Quantum 1 - South Tower

12. Infinity Condominiums 1

13. Wellington on the Park

14. Element

15. Pinnacle Centre - Tower 2

16. N2

17. Battery Park

18. 76 Shuter

To view available listings in these buildings, visit www.TheCondoLife.com.

With summer here, the Toronto condo resale market is slowly shifting towards balance after several years of favouring sellers. There will be a 22 per cent increase in inventory, over last summer. Buyers seem to have more selection, be able to take more time to make decisions, and have a little more room for negotiation. This time last year, buyers had to make quick decisions and often had to pay over asking price.

This seems to be frustrating for sellers, that their units are staying on the market a little longer, and not commanding the bidding wars that were seen so frequently in 2007.

In my opinion this is a better situation for both sides, as the seller will have more time to find their next home, once theirs sells, and the buyer doesn't feel pressured or ripped off. This can be a very dissatisfying experience for a first time buyer, when it should be an enjoyable one.

For more Toronto condo news, visit www.TheCondoLife.com.

Thanks to a surge in condominium construction, Canadian housing starts had a robust start in 2008.

Foundations were poured for a more-than-expected 227,700 units in January, up from 184,700 in December.

Just about all of that increase was due to volatile segment of multi-unit construction (up 64 per cent) compared to a decrease in single-unit starts (such as detached homes) representing a 4.8 per cent dip.

In Toronto, where there has been a record sale of condominiums, the increase in overall starts has been even more dramatic, up 95 per cent in January to a seasonally adjusted and annualized pace of 38,300, compared to 19,600 in December. While some had to deal with bad weather, builders also had trouble shifting resources from low-rise to high-rise projects last year.

But with that structural shift out of the way, 2008 promises to be a vertigo-inducing year on construction sites.

Toronto-area housing starts are expected to hit 41,600 this year compared to 33,293 in 2007, largely due to record condo sales in the last three years. Toronto has more ongoing condo projects than any other city in North America.

Housing starts are expected to decrease in 2008 mainly due to recent increases in house prices, which will push mortgage carrying costs higher for home buyers.

Despite some global financial instability with regards to the U.S. housing market, Canada continues to experience robust employment levels, ongoing income gains and low mortgage rates.

For more Toronto condo news, visit www.TheCondoLife.com.

In a first of its kind, LED lighting has been employed to illuminate the interior corridors throughout Palace Pier, on Toronto's waterfront. It's the first residential building in Canada (and likely North America) to convert to LED technology for interior lighting, as part of a $2.4 million renovation to the interior corridors.

The (Palace Pier) Board and Residents were committed to finding a ‘green' solution for the new lighting and LED proved to be the answer. The lighting project will employ close to 1300 LED-based MR16 lamps in the hallways on all 44 residential floors. Faced with using the traditional halogen MR16, which draws 35 watts of electricity, the new LED product, supplied by Canadian company CRS Electronics, will require only 4 watts.

The Palace Pier has been noted to have the first panoramic view of Toronto's waterfront, but now with a correlated colour temperature (CCT) of 3000 and a colour rendering index (CRI) of 92+, the view inside has also achieved a first and reached the pinnacle of quality. Both of these lighting metrics are very important to designers, as they determine the colour and quality of light and how it reflects on other surfaces to truly represent the colour of the finishings and treatments.

The CRS LED MR16 has a lumen maintenance rating of 70% at 40,000 hours, equivalent to 5 years continuous use. With a lumen output comparable to the 35W halogen that it is replacing, the CRS LED MR16 uses 87% less energy.

The difference between halogen and LED will save the Palace Pier residents approximately $40,000 per year. Electricity demand is approximately 40 kW less, and overall annual consumption will be approximately 349,226 kWh less per year. This translates into approximately a 110 tonne reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The LED MR16 will last 40,000 hours as compared with 2000 hours for a halogen MR16. Relamping maintenance costs such as lamp purchase and labour will be drastically reduced. When considering both the reduced energy as well as maintenance costs, payback of the initial purchase will be within 9 months.

For more Toronto condo news, visit www.TheCondoLife.com.

Even as there are signs greater Toronto's real estate market is losing a little of its lustre, the condo market appears to be holding steady.
Everybody was worrying if last year's success was the boom before the bust. But recent statistics show this years numbers are consistent with last years sales.

Condos have towered over low-rise real estate, both in pricing per square foot and number of units sold. Many of them are in prime locations, near subways. And you can buy one for under $300,000 - there are some still advertising for under $250,000. You can't buy anything close to that in the low-rise market.

I was especially surprised the results didn't seem to be affected by the city's new Land Transfer Tax, which began on Dec. 1. The only difference this year, is that buyers are being a little more cautious, and not diving into to every biddding war. Listings tend to stay on the market a little longer that last year. This is definitely good for the market, as it keeps prices in check.

For more Toronto real estate news, visit my resource centre at http://www.thecondolife.com/condo_resources.html.

Toronto condominium developer Harry Stinson has filed for bankruptcy protection in a high-profile fight with his business partner, theatre producer David Mirvish. The battle pits two of the city's most enigmatic personalities against each over the historic 1 King West condominium and hotel development, while threatening the move of one of Canada's oldest and most prestigious Bay St. clubs. Stinson, a veteran developer and one of the pioneers of the condo-hotel boom in the city, has filed under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act at the Superior Court of Justice for two of his companies that are involved in that project, in a case adjourned to later this month.

The move is not considered bankruptcy, but allows troubled corporations to restructure their financial affairs. CCAA presents an opportunity for companies to restructure under a formal plan of arrangement overseen by a federal court and allows creditors to receive some form of payment. Considered an innovator by many in the industry, Stinson is well known from his late night television ads touting his projects, while Mirvish is Toronto's biggest theatre impresario whose family operates the Royal Alexandra and Princess of Wales theatres. Stinson's two companies, Stinson Hospitality Inc., and Dominion Club of Canada Corp., owe more than $20 million. The main secured creditor is Ed Mirvish Enterprises Inc. for $11.8 million. Unsecured creditors include debenture holders for $5.25 million. While Stinson was the visionary behind 1 King West, which includes the refurbishment of the historic Dominion Bank building with an elegantly slim 51-storey hotel and condo tower behind, Mirvish was the money backing it. The units in the complex are typically owned by individual investors who have the option of pooling their units into the hotel operation if they don't happen to live there.

The hotel was open for business in 2005, and 540 units have been sold, with 32 units still owned by the Mirvish Group. Three of the units are penthouses, with an asking price of about $6.5 million each. Stinson Hospitality Inc. owns public areas of 1 King West, such as the front desk, the valet service, the elevator and other operational components. Stinson's Dominion Club of Canada Corp. owns the second floor former grand hall of the bank, and the bank vault area downstairs. Together, the two companies comprise about 42,000 square feet of space in the project. The financial deal between Stinson and Mirvish meant Stinson would get compensated through hotel and leasing operations, while Mirvish would receive the proceeds of condo sales, said the affidavit.

A fixture on the Toronto development scene, Stinson has long been ahead of the curve – perhaps too far for some of his backers – in real estate development. He was the first to market lofts on a big scale in Toronto with the Candy Factory when it wasn't fashionable to do so, and he was one of the first in the city to jump on mixed-use condominium and hotel developments. Mirvish, who has been known to have a major interest in art and architecture, and was responsible for making Toronto one of the top spots in North America for live theatre, also happens to be the son of Toronto icon Ed Mirvish, of Honest Ed's fame. Meanwhile, Mirvish may also have another issue on his hands in the future, with a lawsuit being threatened by the condominium's board of directors, on which Stinson was recently elected as a director.

For more Toronto condo news, visit www.TheCondoLife.com.