thetorontocondos

Rent control loophole blamed for rising condo rents

thetorontocondos — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:07:52 +0000

Kerri-Lynn McAllister, 27, who works for a Canadian mortgage rate comparison website, discovered the loophole last month when she was told she was facing a $150 a month increase on the 700 square foot condo she is renting near Adelaide St. and University Ave. for $1,625. Maybe Kerri-Lynn should buy the unit and not worry so much about the rent increase on a property that she does not own? see article

Peter Munk’s bet on Toronto Condos

thetorontocondos — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:38:40 +0000

“We think the city is backed by a very strong rental market and continued inward migration,” see article Barrick Gold founder backing developer CD Capital in long-term wager on city’s prosperity.

Urbanization Report

thetorontocondos — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:45:13 +0000

TORONTO CONDO MARKET CONTINUES TO REBALANCE

Sales slow from record-setting pace in early 2012
“The market appears well positioned for an improvement through the rest of 2013. More competitive pricing and the upcoming release of some highly anticipated projects in the second quarter should attract a good amount of attention.
TORONTO – May 6, 2013: Urbanation Inc., the leading source of information and analysis on the Toronto condominium market since 1981, released its Q1-2013 market results today.
A total of 2,728 new condominium apartments were sold in Q1-2013, down by 29% from Q4-2012 and 55% from Q1-2012—which was a record for first quarter sales activity. Sales in Q1-2013 were weighed down by the lowest number of new project openings since Q3-2009.
“The lower volumes seen in the first quarter were not unexpected given how strong the market was throughout 2011 and the first part of 2012. The industry has been cautious in bringing new units to market as sales centre traffic has slowed,” said Shaun Hildebrand, Urbanation’s Senior Vice President.
The number of unsold units in active projects increased during the first quarter to 18,845 units, 21% higher than a year ago. However, the share of active units that are sold held steady at 79%, slightly lower than the five-year average of 80%. The majority of unsold units (64%) are in projects still in the pre-construction sales phase.
The average index price grew by 2.5% annually in the first quarter to $533 psf, a slower pace than the 6.4% average recorded over the past 10 years.
“The market appears well positioned for an improvement through the rest of 2013. More competitive pricing and the upcoming release of some highly anticipated projects in the second quarter should attract a good amount of attention. Activity will remain below recent peaks, but should rise up to a level more consistent with the historical trend this year. An early indicator may be found in the resale numbers, which typically lead the new market during periods of recovery,” added Hildebrand.
Resale condominium apartment sales increased by 9% from the fourth quarter to 3,204 units in Q1-2013 —ranking fourth for a first quarter behind the past three years. Average index prices slipped by 0.5% from a year earlier to $394 psf. Resale prices were weighed down by a jump in listings during the quarter (+25%), partly as a result of an increased number of new registrations at 4,859 units in Q1-2013, 7% of which were listed for resale.

thetorontocondos — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:53:32 +0000

Westlake Encore

Insider Access

First Release of Suites!

Situated in the Park Lawn / Lakeshore Location.

Westlake Encore a master planned community in the Etobicoke Humber Bay / Lakefront neighbourhood

REGISTER BELOW TO GET FRONT OF THE LINE ACCESS

Westlake Encore a unique Urban Development in Etobicoke’s up-and-coming neighborhood.

Westlake Encore also features townhouses facing Mimico Creek and Ground Floor Retail space.

Westlake Encore will be hard to beat for pricing, design, finishes, and incentives .

Thank you to the sales and admin for honouring me with this prestigious award. Being the number one top selling agent for a developer is an honour in itself, when it is with the 3rd largest developer in the Provence for volume it becomes more than just an honour. Words can hardly explain it, I look forward to working on your future sites and now focus on “Encore” your latest development at Park lawn and Lakeshore in Etobicoke starting from $411 per square foot, including Parking and Locker and $15,000 worth of penthouse upgrades not to mention the extended deposit structure over 2 years and free assignment rights. My clients are already booking their units.

Thank you to all whom came out this past weekend for our Investor Seminar and Sales Event. ONNI’s new development “Encore” at Park Lawn and Lakeshore, is sure to be one of the most sought after investment opportunities of 2013. If you would like to get the transcripts of the seminar or set an appointment to view the units and choose your investment prior to the VIP Agents Event, don’t hesitate adn call me right away, 416 712 7908.

Again thanks to everyone for your support.

Event Extended Until May 2nd 2013

thetorontocondos — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:31:43 +0000

City Accord Realty Inc., Brokerage of Toronto, Canada and Fair Deal Real Estate of Dubai, UAE invite you to our INVESTOR ONLY Presentation. The world is a Global Economy, have you diversified your REAL ESTATE Portfolio? Attend the presentation and be the FIRST to purchase EXCLUSIVE Real Estate in Downtown Toronto, Canada. Exclusive offer extended for Full Service Property Management for your investment property.

Low interest Rates

thetorontocondos — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:25:29 +0000

Five-year fixed money is going to an all-time low. If you’re about to buy a condo, get locked in for 120 days in case we see a spike in the near term. Also borrowing amounts may be stretched a little longer with these lower rates as to qualify for a mortgage you may do so in one of two ways: for 5 year money we use the lowest 5 year rate. For any term shorter than 5 years we use the standard posted rate. Clients who want to maximize what they qualify for should lock in a 5 year rate and go with that rate.

Assignit.ca

thetorontocondos — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:23:37 +0000

Many people do not understand what an assignment is. www.assignit.ca does and they explain the whole process for all potential users. If you are thinking about assigning your unit, or buying an assignment than check out this web site assignit.ca.

Assignments must be great, prices are lower than current market values because the units are sold by individual investors happy with making a smaller profit for the sake of not paying closing costs and carrying costs.

I use assignit.ca for all of my assignment needs both for myself and for my clients.

Though assignments are somewhat new and difficult to understand, they offer a full list of FAQ’s to help anwer your questions and full in-depth descriptions with advantages and disadvantages.

Good Luck and Assign that unit!

Professional!

thetorontocondos — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:22:30 +0000

Using your own agent is vital when buying new. Most people think that by going direct to the selling agent in re-sale or developer in pre-sale that they will ultimately lower the costs and that this will be passed on to them. Doing this will ensure that you are not being represented. Developer agents will sell you on over priced remaining product, in re-sale, agents will be confused as to whom they represent. In either case you will negotiate a bad deal. Developers rely on the support and sales from agents. Developers will not run the risk of under cutting the realtor public and being black listed, we represent over 80% of their sales. In the case of re-sale, multiple representation never works in the best interest of the Buyer, think about it, who is paying for the service of selling the property. The price of representation is already factored in, the choice of representing one’s self is ignorant to say the least. I have a fiduciary duty to represent you in your best interest. With 15 years’ experience in the field working directly for developers, I have the knowledge to insert certain clauses, and I will explain the agreement of purchase and sale to you in a way that you will understand it. However if you are confident that you can do a better job than a Professional Agent who has a fiduciary responsibility to represent your interests and is schooled in the industry, than by all means go ahead. With such confidence I would also suggest that this person write their Real Estate Courses and consider a career in the business.

The Bail in Regime

thetorontocondos — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:29:24 +0000

THE “BAIL-IN ” REGIME? The Bail-in Regime April 2013 Central Banking in the 21 Century . Optimism lingers in the air as spring arrives but this could be a uniquely Canadian experience this year. Many people in many other places in the World are definitely not feeling the same. Although I like to look forward in our letters I could not help write a little bit about what is really going on in Cypress. I spent the month researching and investigating the decision to seize insured depositors funds on the tiny Mediterranean island. The history of this bizarre action holds its roots in the past but has some very profound implications for all of our futures. What I found out indicates this unorthodox, pseudo-legal maneuver had been planned and coordinated between our coordinated Central Bankers and Ministers of Finance for quite some time. What disturbed me and got me interested to discover the truth was the fact that, well you can watch the video. Video “We hope people will believe us”, “There will be no capital restrictions and people will be able to move their money out of the Country on Tuesday.” Evidently Tuesday never came. These comments and phrases came from the omnipotent Minister of Finance of Cypress. Here is a comment about Cyrpress in 2008 when the small Country entered the European Union. The comment was from Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank. He says, “For a small, open economy like Cyprus, Euro adoption provides protection from international financial turmoil.” Here is a comment from José Manuel Barroso in 2008, President of the European Commission, “This is an exciting moment for Cyprus and for Europe. Cyprus has adopted a strong and stable currency which is helping Europe to withstand global financial instability and high energy and commodity prices. The euro, accompanied by the right economic policies, helps create growth and jobs and keep inflation within limits. Cyprus is today more than ever a proud and independent island. It has cemented its place at the heart of the EU, increased its economic potential and influence and made it easier for its businesses to trade and its people to travel.” KAM CONSULTING APRIL 2013 NEWSLETTER Kam Consulting Just as Ireland was used to create money out of thin air in the Eurozone until it was completely used up and destroyed, the European Union found another tiny Island in 2008 to put forth their scheme during the financial crisis when it was evident that Ireland would fail. Someone else had to take Ireland’s place to create bad loans to keep the system solvent and the game going. The Cypriot Banking system was one of the largest in the euro area relative to GDP according to Jefferies analysts. Bank deposits were $42.8 Billion Euro’s from domestic residents, $4.8 Billion Euro’s were from Euro area residents and $20.8 Billion Euro’s were from the rest of the World. That is $68.4 Billion Euros for a $17 Billion economy. Although it will not be published we can calculate the amount of debt that Cypress generated in the form of “bad loans” over the last few years. The required bail out size for the Island as of now is approximately $17 Billion Euro’s of which the European Union has requested that the tiny Island “bail-in” and seize a portion of depositors funds in return for equity stakes in banks to the tune of approximately $6 Billion. They will then be given the extra $11 Billion Euro’s. In November of 2012, international lenders agreed on a key capital ratio for banks on the Island of 9%1. Using these numbers one can assume that the capital ratios before the crisis were much lower than 9%, possibly 4-6%. In my estimate we will be conservative and use the ratio of 6%. What this means in lay-man’s terms is that because there is a low probability of all depositors removing all funds at the same time, a bank by legislation, is allowed to keep 6% of its depositor’s funds in cash or tier one capital. Meaning they can lend the other 94% out, or roughly 15 times its tier one capital reserves. This is a global standard for all banks, including banks in Canada! Doing simple math this means that the $17 Billion rescue fund will make the banks solvent again with respect to their outstanding loans which are 15 times greater. $255 Billion! 1. Article So in order to avert a financial disaster the European Union figured a way to come up with the $17 Billion Euro’s through a device called a “bail in”, where anyone with more than $100,000 in the bank would have a portion of their savings returned to them in the form of new bank equity until they managed to raise $6 billion of the $17 Billion required. This individual would get $40,000 of their cash back and $60,000 in bank stock that would be locked up until the bank was profitable possibly at some point in the future, if ever. This is a fairly draconian measure that has the possibility to cause massive distrust in the Banks and the financial system as a whole! $17 Billion is the amount of money the U.S. economy creates by lunch time each and every day. One has to ask why the governing powers would take a paltry $6 Billion from individuals, and risk destroying the public trust in the entire financial system? Unless it did not destroy the financial system and everyone affected pulled together for the greater good? The concept seems unlikely but I am going to suggest that is exactly what has happened so far and Cypress was the test case that our Global Central Bankers have been waiting for, for approximately 9 months, while this scheme was being hatched. Now one can easily see why Cypress has become so important to the European Union. Like Ireland, Cyrpress was used to create unimaginable amounts of money that was lent out to privileged individuals to put into use through-out the World, to buy foreclosed land, foreclosed businesses or Gold at supressed prices I would suggest. $255 Billion in loans for a nation that has a $17 Billion economy. Almost every job in Cypress was in Banking. The goal for both Ireland and Cypress was to leverage their advanced economies as they Kam Consulting were denoted in 2001 by the International Monetary Fund to grow their international banking business and lend to people and companies Globally. The Cypriot businesses services sector was the fastest growing sector of the economy, and had overtaken all other sectors in importance.2 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Cyprus What you will read next is going to shock you and then not shock you. It seems Our Minister of Finance wishes to adopt the Ireland, Cyrpress banking model! This is a quote from Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2013, released March 21, 2013 by the Honourable James M. Flaherty. It is 442 pages long. Budget Page 145, “The Government will enhance its activities aimed at promoting the Canadian financial sector internationally. As part of the Government’s efforts to intensify Canada’s pursuit of new and deeper trade relationships, it will partner with financial institutions to promote the Canadian brand with key decision makers in foreign markets. Strategic expansion of Canadian financial institutions internationally will create skilled financial sector jobs in Canada and allow the industry to increase its contribution to the Canadian economy.” So it seems Mr. Flaherty likes the Irish and Cypriot Banking models that generated enormous wealth and jobs and prosperity but wishes to couple the idea with the safety of a “bail-in” mechanism to protect the Country in the event of a bank failure. Page 145, “The Government proposes to implement a “bail-in” regime for systemically important banks. This regime will be designed to ensure that, in the unlikely event that a systemically important bank depletes its capital, the bank can be recapitalized and returned to viability through the very rapid conversion of certain bank liabilities into regulatory capital. This will reduce risks for taxpayers. The Government will consult stakeholders on how best to implement a bail-in regime in Canada. Implementation timelines will allow for a smooth transition for affected institutions, investors and other market participants.” Just keep in mind that the very rapid conversion of certain bank liabilities means your deposits. A Bank’s liabilities are the monies it owes to depositors and some unsecured debt. In Canada we are protected by CPIC for the familiar amount of $100,000. Above that, your money can be legally seized from you or converted in a manner seen fit by regulators. It has simply never been defined and now Mr. Flaherty is proposing to define this mechanism clearly. I am going to suggest to my readers that there are no coincidences here with the publication of our 2013 Economic Action Plan and the occurrences in Cypress. How long do you think it takes to prepare a 442 page document? I am going to suggest to you that it would be approximately six months which would imply that there were thirty to fifty financial heads of Countries, definitely the G20, who were the creators of this new plan and were its precision executioners in Cypress. Cypress, being such a small Country, was the perfect chance to implement the plan such that if things went Kam Consulting awry the effects could be contained. Cypress was the test. I expect to read other Countries adoption of the “bail-in” scheme in the coming months and years. So at least we understand the risks our deposited funds are now exposed to. One can simply not assume that their money in the bank is 100% safe. In the right set of circumstances as suggested by Mr. Flaherty depositors of failed banks will be required to “bail-in” the bank and be responsible for the risk taking of the bank in question, while Canadians as a whole will not be affected. The probabilities are very, very low but they are now clearly defined for us. As in all other previous newsletters, the entire point is to figure out what we can do to maximize our gains and minimize our risks. The answer is very simple and we are doing it. Invest in land, invest in markets and invest in ourselves. Under these banking conditions we must use our capital to take risks because we are not being rewarded at all for the risks we are being exposed to in our savings any longer. We are being paid 0% in the bank for being exposed to a 10% probability of losing our money. That math does not make sense. With interest rates where they are and the forecast suggesting this behavior is not going to end any time soon, one can benefit from Flaherty’s agenda by using their wealth as leverage to borrow money from the banks. We can also protect ourselves by using a diversified portfolio of banks protecting ourselves from a failure and maximizing our gains by leveraging our funds in a low interest rate environment. As dreaded as it is to hear, leverage and borrowing are our only tools provided to us in the great Country of Canada to maintain an income that justifies the risk of our capital. As Flaherty rolls out his plans to build our Canadian Banks across the globe, borrowing will become easier for us and the financial sector of our economy will flourish. I recommend you take advantage of this decade’s long prosperity while it is here. There is a greater risk in not doing so! Michelle has a very wealthy client who is a Harvard educated man who sold his shipping company for $9 million pounds. He came to Canada in 2008 because of our sturdy banking system and seemingly very strong Real Estate market when compared to the rest of the World. He made the right move and he was correct in his assessment. This gentleman was completely against using mortgages and borrowing money from the bank and when he bought his nine million dollar real estate portfolio he paid for all of his properties in cash. No mortgage. He was against borrowing and paying someone else interest while he had the money in the bank. It is a noble concept of course and a very prudent perspective for the last 100 years. Unfortunately he failed to recognize that change was upon him. After rental income, property tax, and maintenance, in 5 years of investment, he has literally made approximately 2% per year because our economy has remained stagnant. Growing but growing slowly. Michelle had other clients who used $1.5 million in cash to purchase an equal amount of Real Estate as the gentleman above. They used a 15% down payment to purchase their properties and were able to purchase the same amount of inventory as the gentleman above. They also profited 2% on their investments of course. However, this 2% gross profit was on a mortgaged investment that required 6 times less cash than our Harvard educated gentleman, yielding them a 12% actual rate of return for their invested money. Kam Consulting Mr. Harvard did not become part of the system. As stated in previous newsletters, our Central Bankers of the World have engineered a situation to re-inflate assets. The only way this can be achieved is by getting people to become part of the system again and use the banks as a funding source to multiply and leverage their investments. All other individuals will suffer a penalty for not taking advantage of the system and this will become more costly for them over time until they realize the way the game has been positioned. With low inflation, low interest rates and an ever-growing money supply destroying the value of the money that came before it, Mr. Flaherty’s example of a “bail-in” regime to protect a possible failing bank is the last nail in the coffin to set the pieces such that anyone who saves money and does not leverage it for use in the system will be penalized. The system must be made solvent again at all costs. The only way to do this is to convince everyone it is safe to put your money into markets and to take risks. By being subscribed to this newsletter you have already demonstrated that you knew all of this a long time ago (even though you may not have recognized it at the time haha). You are ahead of the curve and I am humbled to be able to help you to confirm your thesis through my actions and decisions. Remember that although some of the news above sounds dire, we are all in for a pleasant decade or two or three before we ever have to worry about the consequences of these reckless policies. We will be rewarded for having recognized the opportunity to take risk and as I always say to you, there is only one thing you have to worry about, and that is; To stay healthy, we will buy the rest! Sincerely, Wesley

Encore

thetorontocondos — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:23:17 +0000