Good morning everyone;
(A jovial article on men who shave their heads below – I happen to be one.)
In the Market
GTA REALTORS® Release Monthly Resale Housing Figures (See Full Report)
October 2, 2012 — Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS reported 5,879 transactions through the TorontoMLS system in September 2012. The average selling price for these transactions was $503,662, representing an increase of more than 8.5 per cent compared to last year.
The number of transactions was down by 21 per cent in comparison to September 2011. However, it is important to note that there were two fewer working days in September 2012 compared to September 2011. The majority of transactions are entered on working days. On a per working day basis, sales were down by 12.5 per cent year-over-year.
“While sales have been lower due to stricter mortgage lending guidelines, we continue to see substantial competition between buyers. The months of inventory trend remains low from a historic perspective, which explains the strong price increases we are experiencing,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah.
September average selling prices were up compared to last year for all major home types. Price growth was strongest in the City of Toronto, including condominium apartments with eight per cent year-over-year growth. All benchmark home types included in the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS HPI) experienced year-over-year price increases, with substantially stronger increases for low-rise home types.
“Barring a major change to the consensus economic outlook, home price growth is expected to continue through 2013. Based on inventory levels, price growth will be strongest for low-rise home types, including single-detached and semi-detached houses and town homes,” said TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis, Jason Mercer.
The New and Improved www.agfineliving.com – 1 more week!
- We have to push back our official re-launch of our website by one week as there are many areas in which we are inputting content and functionality.
- Feel free to take a sneak peek and relay any comments/suggestions that you may have. Take a view of the Sellers’ services tab with the Home staging tour!
- Check out our Featured Home 11 Ennerdale Ave
We have also launched our new Facebook page to complement our Century21 Fine Living Page. I hope you have a chance to visit it and like it! http://www.facebook.com/AGFineLiving
Men shaved bald perceived to be better leaders / CBC News
New research from one of the premier business schools in the U.S. suggests men who shave their heads are perceived to be more dominant, more athletic and better leaders.
Chrome domes, take note: New research from one of the premier business schools in the U.S. suggests men who shave their heads are perceived to be more dominant, more athletic and better leaders.
Research by information management lecturer Albert Mannes at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business suggests that while men with male-pattern baldness tend to view themselves as having poor self-esteem, those who take the pre-emptive step of shaving a thinning head of hair enjoy numerous benefits in terms of how they are perceived by others.
In the paper, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, Mannes outlines the results of three recent experiments involving men with shorn heads:
- Participants were asked to look at pictures of men of a similar age, including some with shaved heads, and then rank them across many categories, including attractiveness, confidence, leadership ability and how much power they exuded.
- Mannes attempted to control for other features, by showing pictures of the same men with hair, and then images in which their hair has been digitally removed. The same questions were again asked.
- Physical descriptions of men were given, without pictures, and respondents were asked to describe their impressions
Shaved heads more dominant
Two of the experiments showed that shaved men were perceived as being as much as an inch taller, on average, and stronger: the survey showed shaved men were estimated to be able to bench press 13 per cent more, on average.
In all three, they were also perceived to have better leadership qualities.
Mannes, who has shaved his head since he started going bald in his thirties, said the idea for the experiments came from his own experience.
“After fighting it for a while, one day I just decided to shave it off,” he said in an interview published on the Wharton school’s website.
While he received positive reviews from those who knew him, he noticed that new interactions with strangers were different. Others seemed “stand-offish and even deferential” to him, where they hadn’t been before.
The experiments also showed a downside, however.
Men with shaved heads were rated lower in attractiveness and also seen as being older. But they nonetheless scored higher than men with thinning hair, who were ranked lower in almost all categories.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend,
Anthony