Peel, ON

TORONTO, October 5, 2010 --Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 6,310 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September 2010. This represented a 23 per cent decrease compared to the 8,196 sales recorded during the same period in 2009. Through the first nine months of the year, sales amounted to 69,069 – up four per cent compared to the first three quarters of 2009. “The level of sales in the second half of 2010 has been lower, representing a balancing out period following record levels of sales in the latter half of 2009 and first few months of 2010. We remain on track for one of the best years in history for existing home transactions in the GTA,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Bill Johnston. The average price for September transactions was $427,329– up five per cent compared to the average of $406,877 reported in September 2009. The average selling price through the first nine months of the year was $429,657. “Resale homes in the GTA remain affordable,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “It is important to consider the positive impact of declining mortgage rates over the past two decades. Simply considering home prices relative to incomes does not allow for an accurate analysis of affordability,” continued Mercer. “The share of average household income going toward a mortgage payment on the average priced home in the GTA remains within accepted lending guidelines. This is why the average home selling price has continued to grow.”

Toilet Replacement Program

The program provides $60 and $100 rebates to residents or property

owners who replace inefficient toilets of 13L or more with new Peel-Approved water efficient

6L toilets (per toilet). To be eligible for the program, you must live

in the Region of Peel and own or rent a single or multi-family dwelling. Rebates of $60 are available

for Peel-Approved 6L toilets and rebates of $100 for those that flush with 4.8L of water or

less. All toilets must have been purchased on or after Sept. 01, 2005 and installed in residential

dwellings within the Region of Peel.

Full upto date details about the program are available

at http://www.watersmartpeel.ca , http://www.watersmartpeel.ca or by calling the Region of Peel at 905-791-7800, Ext. 4409

It was good to be part of observing one our without light. I just spent my time with my family at home

It was observed all over the world.

Earth Hour is an international event organized by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), and held on the last Saturday of March each year, which asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Earth hour was conceived by WWF Greenwich CT and the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights.^[1] Following Sydney's lead, many other cities around the world.