Wasaga Beach, ON

Although the Town of Wasaga Beach did not get to be official until January of 1974, its stature as the longest fresh water beach in the world has continually brought in both permanent and seasonal residents, particularly from neighboring Toronto. As a result, the community has continually climbed -- from 12,419 permanent occupants in 2001 to 15,029 by the time the 2006 census was conducted.

As the numbers continue to rise, Wasaga Beach has earned a reputation as one of the quickest developing communities in the country. Since 2009, there has been a dramatic increase in both the number of sales and the volume of Wasaga Beach real estate sold, indicating a good mix of new residential property as well as seasonal and weekend properties springing up all along the popular beach front. 

Wasaga Beach's fourteen kilometers of safe, sandy public beaches, including the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park--which was awarded the highly regarded Blue Flag designation for its efforts to manage Wasaga's shoreline in compliance with international environmental standards‚ lures both permanent residents and visitors alike. During the summer, residents and vacationers alike enjoy sunbathing and sports such as volleyball and jogging along the sandy beaches that are numbered 1-6 -- with 1 and 2 being the most popular. The same stretch of beach becomes a wintertime gathering piont for sports buffs who arrive to snowmobile and cross country ski on the well-groomed trails.

The expansion that Wasaga Beach has experienced has not been put off by the massive fire that destroyed a large portion of the main street businesses and apartments to to mention the pedestrian mall on November 30, 2007. Instead, the area is undergoing a massive building boom with fabrication currently underway on a modern style beach front boardwalk with a plaza, eateries, and an indoor/outdoor theme park serviced by a monorail. currently, the Georgian Coach Lines -- that supplies local transportation services --has had to expand their routes twice since 2008 to meet the demand of the expanding area and provides an east-west loop through the town from 7AM to 7PM everyday.

The increasing accessibility of services and products in Wasaga Beach has aided in pushing real estate sales up 65 percent in the first part of 2010 when compared to the same time last year. The month of March 2010 experienced a substantial 50 percent increase which also had a measurable affect on the neighboring Collingwood real estate sector. A large number of the recent sales were in the 350K to 500K range, which represents a 172 percent hike for the Greater Toronto Area over the average price of residential property, which usually runs around 300K. This kind of price surge can, in part, be associated with recreational purchasers, but it also indicates that Wasaga Beach is becoming a popular retirement choice for wealthier residents who buy upscale estates. But no doubt the general appeal of the Georgian Triangle 'quality of life' will continue to attract the interest in a broad range of potential purchasers who are lured in by the rural beauty of Wasaga Beach, but enjoy the convenience of having the amenities of Toronto that is just a a short drive away. 

1) Sutton Member Program, the lowest mortgage rates in the industry available through me. Why rent when you can own and build equity as the housing market rebounds???

http://www.suttonmember.com/

2) Land Transfer Tax Refunds for First Time Home Buyers

http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/bulletins/ltt/1_2008.html

3) First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2009/fqhbtc-eng.html

4) Home Buyers Plan

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/rrsp-reer/hbp-rap/menu-eng.html

5) Canada's Remarkable Housing Recovery

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/09/17/f-housing-bubble.html

6) The Impact of Ontario's Harmonized Sales Tax coming July 2010

http://www.dailycommercialnews.com/nw/10988/en

7) Canada's Home Renovation Tax Credit

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/hrtc/

8) Its a Buyers Market, plenty of listings to choose from.

9) Its getting cold out!

10) I want to be the catalyst for your move and have you in before December so that you can start building equity in your future taking advantage of all these wonderful programs.

I only wish we had these programs available when I was a first time homebuyer, none of this was in place, count your blessings and act on it and call me for help in my area or I can refer you to a good agent where ever you live.

Chris Bone

Sutton on the Bay Realty

Wasaga Beach

705 888 1966

http://chrisbone.point2agent.com

I'm sending my very best wishes for a peaceful holiday that is positively buzzing with joy—and cookies!—and may health and happiness abound in 2009.

One of the themes for our family this past year seemed to be the quest for knowledge. Modeling adult learning to school-age children holds tremendous value and our daughters have seen Daddy's core beliefs lead him to become a GREEN® realtor (one of the first in Canada!) and Mommy to become a Certified Staging Professional with a flare for feng shui.

Travels this year have served as reminders that we live relatively free and abundant lives in Canada. May we all find that magical work-play, learning-leisure, carrots-cookies balance point!

-Mary

I've been asking (begging?) clients for testimonials lately to post on my website. Here's quite possibly my favourite testimonial ever, received this morning from some treasured clients:

"Here goes Bruce:

Working with Bruce in the buying and selling of several homes had many advantages for my wife and I. Firstly, his dyslexia is often amusing and puts potential buyers at ease almost immediately. This can be tempered somewhat by his Tourettes, but if you give him a shot of scotch prior to meeting with the buyers he seems to control it better. Just one shot though, there was this once, oh, nevermind.

One other advantage, although it is more in his favour than ours (although we do like Mary quite a bit), is that when he gets a commission cheque he can feed his Meth habit with Mary having to resort to hooking again. It's great hearing the story of how they met that way, but really, they love each other and should only be with each other in "that way".

Thank God we moved out of the Beach and won't have to use him in any of our future moves, and possibly his drug addled mind will eventually forget we ever knew him at all. But if you are looking for a realtor that you won't soon forget, Bruce is the man!

Sincerely,

Anonymous...

...

... A real one will follow on the weekend, unless you want to use the above.

Cheers, Michael"

I love these folks! And this is after our sixth deal together! Never know what's going to greet you in your Inbox.

~ Bruce

And then Michael and Tammy added the following:

"But seriously folks:

In the past 10 years my wife and I have been assisted by Bruce in the buying and selling of 3 homes for a total of six transactions with him. In each instance he caused the stress level to be significantly lower than it should have been. He is incredibly intelligent with regards to the real estate business in general, and phenomenally knowledgeable about the Georgian Bay areas properties. He was always available to us, and provided needed insight and feedback throughout each process. He even offers follow-up care.

The only problem in dealing with Bruce is that he will ruin your experience with other agents. Recently my mother moved from Niagara to Barrie utilizing two agents, one there and one here. My expectations of what they could do were so high (due to my dealings with Bruce) that I was very disappointed. Oh, they did the usual stuff like put ads in the paper and arranged showings, but that was it. They didn't offer meaningful input, and most noticeably missing was following up after the transaction to make sure she was happy.

It is the small things that make differences in one's life. Bruce, you look after ALL the small things that your clients shouldn't worry about. That is what makes you our agent for life.

Cheers.

Michael and Tammy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We Canadians are indeed a breed apart. One of my co-workers just sent me this timeless Jeff Foxworthy list describing us Canucks perfectly. Read on:

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in
Canada.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work
there, you live in Canada.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Canada.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a
wrong number, you live in Canada.

If 'vacation' means going anywhere south of Detroit for the weekend, you
live in Canada.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Canada.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in
Canada.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again,
you live in Canada

If you can drive 50 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard
without flinching, you live in Canada.

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both
unlocked, you live in Canada.

If you carry jump leads in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you
live in Canada.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live
in Canada.

If the speed limit on the highway is 60 mph, you're going 70 and everybody
is passing you, you live in Canada.

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with
snow, you live in Canada.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road
construction, you live in Canada.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in
Canada.

If you find 34°F 'a little chilly', you live in Canada.

And I'll add one of my own: "If you've ever been out showing property and your snowmobile ran out of gas on the trail leading to the property, you might be a real estate agent... in Canada."

~ Bruce