Manoj Arora

TORONTO, July 20, 2009 - In the first two weeks of July, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,437 sales up 27 per cent compared to the first two weeks of July 2008. The average price for these transactions was up four per cent year-over-year to $394,750.

"The resurgence in home ownership demand experienced in the spring has continued into the summer. Home buyers continued to take advantage affordable market conditions in the first half of July," said TREB President Tom Lebour. "If the mid-month results carry forward, we may see the best July on record."

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http://www.aceteamrealty.com/Blog

The provincial government has announced some proposed changes to the way it would apply the proposed Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) to the purchase price of newly constructed housing. The provincial government has also announced proposed transitional details for newly constructed properties.

Background
The provincial government has announced that it intends to combine the eight percent Provincial Sales Tax with the five percent federal Goods and Services Tax, creating a 13 percent Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).

· The HST is NOT YET IN EFFECT. The provincial government has indicated that it intends to bring the HST into effect beginning on July 1, 2010.

· HST will not apply on the purchase price of re-sale homes.

· HST would apply to services such as moving cost, legal fees, home inspection fees, and REALTOR® commissions.

Proposed Changes for New Housing Rebate
HST will apply to the purchase price of newly constructed homes. Originally, the provincial government indicated that it would provide a rebate to ensure that, on average, new homes under $400,000 would not be subject to an additional tax burden. Homes priced between $400,000 and $500,000 would be eligible for a portion of the rebate, and homes priced above $500,000 would be subject to the full HST. However, the provincial government is proposing some significant enhancements to these rebates, as follows:*

· Enhanced new housing rebat

e - The province is proposing to enhance the new housing rebate so that new homes across all price ranges would receive a 75 per cent rebate of the provincial portion of the single sales tax on the first $400,000. For new homes under $400,000, this would mean, on average, no additional tax amount compared to the current system.

· New rental housing rebate

TORONTO, July 6, 2009 - - In June 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported a record 10,955 sales, up 27 per cent from June 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in June was 100,700.(1)

"The record result in June is testament to the fundamentally sound housing market in the GTA," said the Toronto Real Estate Board's newly appointed President Tom Lebour. "An increasing number of households have been confident in purchasing a home in the region's affordable and diverse resale housing market."

Read the complete Story Hereon my Website

In the first four months of 2009, TREB members reported 3,945 leased condominium apartments, representing a 38% increase over the 2,854 units leased during the same period in 2008. Almost 93 per cent of all residential rental transactions on the MLS® involved condominium apartments.

Read the Complete MLS Rental Market Report

Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 5,185 transactions in the first half of June - an increase of 19 per cent compared to the same period last year. "Households in the GTA have become more confident in purchasing a home over the past three months," said TREB President Maureen O'Neill. "Affordability, due in part to very low borrowing costs, has played a key role."

The average price for MLS® sales was $407,716, up by two per cent compared to last year. "Heightened interest in ownership housing this spring has solidified resale home prices," according to Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "The number of home buyers has been high relative to the number of listings, pushing the average price above last year's level."