You’ve probably seen the news lately: real estate sales down by 50% compared to this time last year! Although there are many things to take into consideration like the changing economy and hesitation on behalf of Canadians while watching the real estate market in the states, there are still more sides of the story…
Take, for example, the effects of the Land Transfer Tax, a levy of up to 2% in addition to the province’s taxes, which took effect Feb. 1, 2008.
The C.D. Howe study, “Sand in the Gears”, reported a drop in the number of houses sold in Toronto from February, when the tax was implemented, until August, when the real estate market began to falter. Comparing Toronto sales with those in the suburbs, there has been a 16% decrease in sales and a 1.5% reduction in house prices.
City Councillor Shelley Carroll, the mayor's budget chief, is predicting that the effects felt by the land transfer tax should stabilize in a year or so, but added that the market was artificially inflated when some buyers hurried to purchase their property before it took effect.
None of us has a crystal ball to look into the future, but it will be interesting to see what the real estate numbers in February 2009 will look like. A little less askew?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Property Tax Assessment Appeals
Recently homeowners in Toronto have received their property tax assessments in the mail and I have been asked for advice on what they can do if they feel the assessment is not an accurate reflection of the value of their home. You can appeal the assessment, and I myself have had success in lowering my property taxes by doing so. This may not be the case for everyone, but it might be something you are interested in pursuing nonetheless.
Metropolitan Property Tax Consultants (416-482-3000) are one of the companies in Toronto that provide such a service. They will charge you half of the amount of the savings on your property taxes, and in the case that there are no savings, there is no charge.
By lowering your property taxes you may not only save yourself money, but also increase the appeal of a property you have listed or are thinking of listing.
Metropolitan Property Tax Consultants (416-482-3000) are one of the companies in Toronto that provide such a service. They will charge you half of the amount of the savings on your property taxes, and in the case that there are no savings, there is no charge.
By lowering your property taxes you may not only save yourself money, but also increase the appeal of a property you have listed or are thinking of listing.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
A New Year, A Fresh Start!
A new year is a great time to make a fresh new start, and what better place to start than by giving your living space a fresh new start. January seems to be a time to sit back and look over all the festive accumulations/great boxing day deals and say, “What do I do to make my living space more liveable…or saleable??” (These handy hints will also make any future moves so much easier)
· Start with removing all the festive decorations. For easy storage and an even easier way to find them again next time you need them, store them in see-thru plastic storage containers. They will stack nicely on top of one another, and you will be able to see the items packed in each container. Once the decorations are removed you will find it less overwhelming to deal with the rest of the house.
· During this time of year, gifts can add to the clutter. A good rule of thumb is out with the old, in with the new. When you have a new item to bring into the house: be it an appliance, an item of clothing or piece of furniture, don’t keep the old one *and* the new…do you really need 3 electric can openers?
· If these replaced items have only been gently used don’t just toss them in the garbage. Instead donate them to a local charity or you can post them for sale on a website such as craigslist.org or have a garage sale. In the spring contact me, Elli Davis, regarding free signs to advertise your garage sale!
· Label boxes for “Donations” and/or “Garage Sale” and designate a corner of one room for these boxes. As you gather items from the other rooms it will make your donation drop off one simple trip, and your garage sale more organized.
· A simple tip to help decluttering is to tackle just a small area and move on…don’t think of the daunting task of the whole house. Pick one room to start with, one day sort through the surface areas: countertops, floors, etc., the next day choose a cupboard or two, the next day a couple of drawers…you get the idea! Decide which items you really truly want to keep, which won’t be used for awhile and need to be stored and which are on their way out the door: donation, sale or garbage.
· When you choose items to be stored: mark the box with the date. If you have not needed to open that box to retrieve the items inside in over a year, drop that box off at a donation centre without opening it. If you didn’t need them in a year, you won’t need them.
· Finally: once you have done this great job weeding out unnecessary items and organizing what has been left…resist the temptation to bring more clutter into your home! Every time you go to make a purchase, stop and think, really think, “Do I need this, or do I just *want* it?” and remind yourself of all the effort you just went to to minimize the amount of clutter in your home…is that fourth electric can opener really worth all the aggravation??
These tips can be used at any time of year, but sometimes the inspiration of a new year is a helpful nudge in the right direction.
· Start with removing all the festive decorations. For easy storage and an even easier way to find them again next time you need them, store them in see-thru plastic storage containers. They will stack nicely on top of one another, and you will be able to see the items packed in each container. Once the decorations are removed you will find it less overwhelming to deal with the rest of the house.
· During this time of year, gifts can add to the clutter. A good rule of thumb is out with the old, in with the new. When you have a new item to bring into the house: be it an appliance, an item of clothing or piece of furniture, don’t keep the old one *and* the new…do you really need 3 electric can openers?
· If these replaced items have only been gently used don’t just toss them in the garbage. Instead donate them to a local charity or you can post them for sale on a website such as craigslist.org or have a garage sale. In the spring contact me, Elli Davis, regarding free signs to advertise your garage sale!
· Label boxes for “Donations” and/or “Garage Sale” and designate a corner of one room for these boxes. As you gather items from the other rooms it will make your donation drop off one simple trip, and your garage sale more organized.
· A simple tip to help decluttering is to tackle just a small area and move on…don’t think of the daunting task of the whole house. Pick one room to start with, one day sort through the surface areas: countertops, floors, etc., the next day choose a cupboard or two, the next day a couple of drawers…you get the idea! Decide which items you really truly want to keep, which won’t be used for awhile and need to be stored and which are on their way out the door: donation, sale or garbage.
· When you choose items to be stored: mark the box with the date. If you have not needed to open that box to retrieve the items inside in over a year, drop that box off at a donation centre without opening it. If you didn’t need them in a year, you won’t need them.
· Finally: once you have done this great job weeding out unnecessary items and organizing what has been left…resist the temptation to bring more clutter into your home! Every time you go to make a purchase, stop and think, really think, “Do I need this, or do I just *want* it?” and remind yourself of all the effort you just went to to minimize the amount of clutter in your home…is that fourth electric can opener really worth all the aggravation??
These tips can be used at any time of year, but sometimes the inspiration of a new year is a helpful nudge in the right direction.
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