Good day all;

Lots of activity going on – Set offer dates and Bidding wars are still the norm.  This year prices are expected to rise by about 4-5% but will continued to be balanced by lower borrowing costs.

If any of you are in the need of mortgage assistance feel free to let me know and I can refer you to a couple of trusted mortgage professionals.  Attached is a sample mortgage sheet from one of my trusted contacts, Joe Mandarino.

Realtor Fact

As a realtor, when asked by a client for a referral to any other related professional (Contractors, Inspectors, Mortgage Borkers, Lawyers etc.), we need to recommend at least 2-3.

In the market news…

GREATER TORONTO REALTORS® REPORT MONTHLY RESALE MARKET FIGURES (Full Report)

TORONTO, February 4, 2015 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Paul Etherington announced a strong start to 2015, with robust year-over-year sales and average price growth in January. Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 4,355 home sales through the TorontoMLS system during the first month of the year. This result represented a 6.1 per cent increase over January 2014. During the same period, new listings were up by 9.5 per cent. “The January results represented good news on multiple fronts. First, strong sales growth suggests home

buyers continue to see housing as a quality long-term investment, despite the recent period of economic uncertainty. Second, the fact that new listings grew at a faster pace than sales suggests that it has become easier for some people to find a home that meets their needs,” said Mr. Etherington.  The average selling price for January 2015 home sales was up by 4.9 per cent year-over-year to $552,575. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite benchmark was up by 7.5 percent compared to January 2014. “Home price growth is forecast to continue in 2015. Lower borrowing costs will largely mitigate price growth this year, which means affordability will remain in check. The strongest rates of price growth will be experienced for low-rise home types, including singles, semis and town houses. However, robust enduser demand for condo apartments will result in above-inflation price growth in the high-rise segment as well,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.

Low rates seen fuelling Toronto’s surging housing market as Alberta markets stall (See attached for some interest rate deals)

The average price of a home sold in Toronto in January climbed 4.9% to $552,575, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board which predicts more increases in 2015 amid near record-low interest rates.

Nervous Calgary homeowners put their homes on the market in January, well outpacing demand, and creating conditions that could lead to a price collapse. Read on

Sales in Canada’s largest city also remained strong and climbed 6.1% last month from a year earlier.

With the Bank of Canada cutting rates, which has put the prime lending rate at 2.85%, and five-year fixed rate mortgages below 2.5% at some financial institutions, the board’s head of analysis thinks there could be even more room for price growth.

“Home price growth is forecast to continue in 2015. Lower borrowing costs will largely mitigate price growth this year, which means affordability will remain in check. The strongest rates of price growth will be experienced for low-rise home types, including singles, semis and town houses. However, robust end-user demand for condo apartments will result in above-inflation price growth in the high-rise segment as well,” Jason Mercer, director of market analysis, for TREB, said in a statement.

The Toronto news follows a report from Vancouver which shows its market also remains strong even as Alberta sales have fallen drastically. New listings have spiked in Calgary and Edmonton and that is expected to put pressure on prices.

On Tuesday Edmonton reported sales were down 26% in January from a year earlier while Calgary reported a 39% decline during the same period. Meanwhile, Vancouver  reported a strong 8.7% gain in sales last month from a year earlier with prices 5.5% during the same period.

Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist with CIBC, said there is very little likelihood that the price decline expected in Alberta will affect the rest of the country.

“It’s very difficult to imagine a scenario where Alberta will have a significant effect on the rest of the country,” said Mr. Tal, referring to house prices.

In Toronto, there appeared to no impact as the average price of detached homes inches closer to $1-million. Prices in that category in the city rose 7% from a year to $948,713.

“The January results represented good news on multiple fronts. First, strong sales growth suggests home buyers continue to see housing as a quality long-term investment, despite the recent period of economic uncertainty. Second, the fact that new listings grew at a faster pace than sales suggests that it has become easier for some people to find a home that meets their needs,” said Paul Etherington, president of the board, in a release.

We’re No 1

Toronto is world’s best city to live in, Economist study says

The Globe and Mail

Toronto is the world’s best city to live in, according to a study of major metropolises by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

And Montreal is the second-best, with Stockholm, Amsterdam and San Francisco rounding out the top five.

The two Canadian cities topped the overall scoring in the 2015 Safe Cities Index published this week by the EIU, a unit of The Economist magazine. It is based on a ranking of 50 major cities by a new study of safety along with past rankings based on liveability and cost of living. Cities were further sorted according to past country rankings based on business environment, degree of democracy and food security.

Vancouver, which often scores highly in global rankings of this kind, was not included in the survey; nor was any other Canadian city.

THE GLOBAL TOP 10

Toronto
Montreal
Stockholm
Amsterdam
San Francisco
Melbourne
Zurich
Washington, DC
Sydney
Chicago

THE 10 SAFEST CITIES

Tokyo
Singapore
Osaka
Stockholm
Amsterdam
Sydney
Zurich
Toronto
Melbourne
New York

Are you getting enough sleep?   Are you sleeping too much?

Are You Getting Enough Sleep? New Study Suggests Revisions to Recommended Sleep Times© Provided by The Active Times Are You Getting Enough Sleep? New Study Suggests Revisions to Recommended Sleep Times.

Based on new results from a two-year long study, the National Sleep Foundation recently updated its guidelines for recommended sleep time for varying age groups.

“Though research cannot pinpoint an exact amount of sleep need by people at different ages, our new chart, which features minimum and maximum ranges for health as well as ‘recommended’ windows, identifies the ‘rule-of-thumb’ amounts experts agree upon,” the foundation said in a news release.

Healthy sleeping habits are an important pillar of good health.

Not only will you notice a negative influence on things like your focus, memory, and energy levels the day after a night with little sleep, but consistently missing out on sleep is associated with long-term issues like an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and impaired immunity.

The new guidelines issued by the National Sleep Foundation suggest the following time spans for adequate sleep amounts among select age groups:

• Newborns (0-3 months ): 14-17 hours each day (previously it was 12-18)
• Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours (previously it was 14-15)
• Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14)
• Preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours (previously it was 11-13)
• School age children (6-13): 9-11 hours (previously it was 10-11)
• Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours (previously it was 8.5-9.5)
• Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category)
• Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours
• Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category)

The new recommendations were also outlined in an infographic which denotes even more specific categories for sleep time such as “recommended range” (outlined above), “may be appropriate” (to designate sleep times outside the recommended range that could be suitable for some individuals), and “not recommended” (to label sleep times that are either much to little or excessive for good health).

The NSF news release mentioned that it’s important for individuals to pay attention to their specific needs, suggesting that you experiment with and assess how you feel on different amounts of sleep so that you can create a habit that allows you to continually feel good.

Some questions that they suggest you ask yourself:

• Are you productive, healthy and happy on seven hours of sleep? Or does it take you nine hours of quality ZZZs to get you into high gear?
• Do you have health issues such as being overweight? Are you at risk for any disease?
• Are you experiencing sleep problems?
• Do you depend on caffeine to get you through the day?
• Do you feel sleepy when driving?

“Pay careful attention to your mood, energy and health after a poor night’s sleep versus a good one,” the news release said. “Ask yourself, ‘How often do I get a good night’s sleep?’ Like good diet and exercise, sleep is a critical component to overall health.”

Keep your shovels handy – more snow for this weekend.

Be safe and have a wonderful weekend, Anthony

Photo by Eric Sehr