Any rennlisters out there in the residential real estate business or have any recommendations for good agents out in Toronto?

Thanks!

 

janice varasteh
www.thelifestylespecialist.com

 

Kevin Loberg, Pinnacle Real Estate Coldwell Banker. 416-485-2299 or kloberg@cbpinnacle.com

He's great to work with.

 

Depends on the area...you will find that there are specialists for each area...Rosedale, Lawrence Park, Kingsway, Forest Hills, etc....

 

Which neighbourhood are you looking for ? price point? etc...

 

http://img96.exs.cx/img96/2470/house4.png
my house is for sale thru janice and i just built a 2nd garage 40 ft deep with 15 ft ceilings to put a car lift, floor drains,compressor,venting fan, cupboards, painted floors etc..Exclusive ~
his spectacular residence, perched high above conservation lands and the prestigious Donalda Golf Club, is a blissful retreat offering sunset views, lavish finishes and the latest state-of-the-art conveniences!
The lush, landscaped grounds and newly renovated exterior offer a distinguished, yet inviting street appeal while the tall cedars and mature trees ensure complete privacy at the rear of the home. The gas-line campfire, situated on the interlocked patio, compliments the Muskoka ambience of the property and is a lively conversation piece!
This truly unique dream home will appeal to any automobile or motorcycle enthusiast with its recent 2nd (tandem) garage addition. This area has been architecturally designed to add a car lift (see photo, left) to fit a 4th car, operate an at-home indoor car wash and car maintenance center!
Or, watch the playoffs or latest releases in your very own personal theatre/ family room, featuring a built-in Pioneer Elite home theatre, with THX surround sound, a 60” Sony LCD Rear Projection HDTV television, upconvert progressive DVD player, VCR and color Marantz remote controller (which remotely operates the room lights and components of this state-of-the-art theatre system). To pay tribute to the high tech feel of this space, your gas fireplace is also operated by remote control! You may never want to leave home again!
Renowned Interior Designer, Litza Parker, whose work is often seen in Toronto’s finest multi-million dollar homes, assisted the owners in fulfilling their dreams in designing this most unforgettable, truly remarkable residence!
Amidst this secluded setting, it’s easy to forget that you are conveniently located minutes from major arteries for easy access to Downtown.
heated floors, generator on house for blackouts, sprinkler system, chubb alarm, new everything,lots of custom work

 

I am arriving Friday night, car goes in storage out here Friday morning My intent is to rent for a few months, then decide if and where I want to buy. Rental budget is $2k/month, purchase budget is anywhere from $225-400k for an apartment. In Vancouver, I had an offer on a $385k 790sqft apartment, but the owner turned my $365k down. He didn't even counter! I'm hoping the Toronto market is a bit more forgiving.

 

If you can afford to wait then don;t purchase at the moment. Market is way over priced in the GTA. It's gotta burst sooner or later.

Patrick

 

With the kind of interest rates offered on mortgages at present people are still buying, in the UK interest rates went up 3 time in the past year and put the brakes in the market, the same is just arount the corner, however GTA prices are comparable with any major city worldwide (and by world wide I don't mean just america) Toronto has some very expensiev areas but there are also some pockets of nice areas, I'm in hte Bluff's when I'm in town and it's still reasonable there, just north of the city is very high as is the West end (but who wants to pay that much to sit in traffic all day. Renting is the best bet and drive the route a few days to see what it's like, I have going from the east to west as there's huge amounts of traffic, there seems to be less travelling east, the distance people are prepaires to travel is getting larger and there's a lot of available property on the West side, especially in your budget, MLS is probably going to be your best bet and ask around, some will swear they live in the best neighbour hood while others will give you an honest opinion, travel around the city and remember it's a very segregated community, Gerrard and Danforth give 2 very different imressions on the city, as does Queen and Bloor.

 

Mmm... people has been saying that for the past 5 years. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

 

Yeah I know, I've been hearing the same thing myself.

Having a direct link to the construction market in Ontario, however, I do believe that price reductions are indeed on the way. I don't think it will be as severe as the 90's but certainly like the stock markets, corrections in real estate will occcur. Consumers are at a very high level of debt load, consumer mortgages are at a all time high. I don't think rates will go as high as the 80's and 90's but I do believe the American mortgage interest rate deduction is on it's way in Canada.

IMHO...................

Cheers and safe driving.

 

If we bring the american style rate deductions to Canada, wouldn't that make it even more affordable for people to own property, further driving prices up or do you feel the rate increases will offset the gains from the deduction?

I've been sitting on the fence about buying, the Vancouver landscape is almost full, especially downtown. I seem to be a good predictor of the market, whenever I buy, the market goes down so this time, I'm desperately trying to hold out. I bought Palm at $90/share, so I hope I do better this time around . . .

 

As a side note, thanks to all of you for your feedback and advice. I ended up with an apartment at Yonge and Bloor, 8 Park Rd. It's not an ideal apartment (the parking lot is a nightmare), but it was the best I could find in the $2k/month range. I am astonished at the rent prices in Toronto, they are much higher than Vancouver, even though the selling prices are opposite (apartments are more expensive in Vancouver).

 

Hey Fc-racer;

IMHO.....I don't think the Amercianized mortgage interest deduction will have any influence on housing prices. Don't forget , in order to qualify for a a dollar amount of mortage, the banks will still require a certain amount of combined household income. They won't take into consideration what your income tax refund will be if the mortgage interest is deducted. The plan when adopted in Canada will be strictly relief for households with large mortgage values in the event of increased interest rates and further stimulation of the economy. The Government and Banks cannot allow rates to increase to the point where people start losing their homes or stop having the ability to carry their debt. This would be catastrophic ! They know that and they have known that for some time.

I don't know how old you are, but I was brought up with the belief that mortages are meant to paid off as soon as possible. I truly believe that the Canadian thinking process is changing and will change more towards to the American version. Why pay off your mortgage when you can deduct it. In fact you'll want to always carry a portion of debt or even perhaps increase it every year. Those with debt free homes will probably re-finance and use the additional funds back into the economy.

There is an analyst who I follow and have been following for many years. His name is Ross Healy from Strategic Analysis Corporation. He appeard today on Rob TV at 12.30. You should listen to him. Great advise for the every day investor.

Here's the link.

http://www.robtv.com/

So endith the economic lesson.

Cheers and safe driving.