URBANATION SAYS “FOURTH QUARTER FLURRY” DRIVES 2010 TORONTO CONDO MARKET TO NEAR-RECORD SALES

Q4 2010’s 6,280 new Toronto CMA unit sales were the 4th highest quarterly total
on record: with aid of robust resale activity, 2010 market powers to strong finish
FINAL – TORONTO – January 31, 2011…Urbanation Inc., the leading source of information
and analysis on the Toronto condominium market since 1981, today released its Q4-2010 market
overview.
For the second consecutive year, the Toronto CMA new-condominium market finished with a
bang. A flurry of sales activity in Q4-2010 resulted in 6,280 new condominium units sold in the
quarter. This represents an impressive rebound from the 3,805 new unit sales in the preceding
Q3-2010.
Said Urbanation Executive Vice President and Editor Ben Myers, “The Q4-2010 new unit sales
were much higher than expected, spurred by tremendous results at a number of new project
openings in the City of Toronto. In the end, 2010’s total annual new and resale condominium
sales of 37,041 units were just three per cent shy of the historic 2007 record of 38,306 units
sold.”
Compared to 2009, 2010’s sales represent an increase of 20 per cent over 2009’s 30,939 new and
resale condominium units sold. 2010 sales soared 27 per cent over 2008’s sales of 27,187 new
and resale volume.
Myers added, “Even more impressive than the sales results were the number of construction
starts, a Toronto CMA record of 18,221 high-rise condominiums started in 2010, more than
twice as many as 2009. There are now 34,548 units under construction in the CMA in 132
projects”.
The key to Q4-2010’s strength, and the overall 2010 annual sales success, seems to have been a
combination of developers continuing to restrain pricing at new project launches to appeal both
to the general market, and to investors looking to acquire suites as future rental properties.
A 2010 Urbanation survey of condominium industry professionals indicates that their major
concern with regard to 2011 sales levels will be affordability. In the Toronto CMA overall, the
unsold unit index price for new projects (the average asking price of available product per square
foot), rose eight per cent annually from $493 to $530 psf in Q4-2010. The unsold index price in
the former City of Toronto was $646 psf in Q4-2010 and $723 psf in the Downtown Core.
Pricing in the resale market has flattened in recent quarters, but has risen six per cent annually
from $352 psf in Q4-2009 to $374 psf in the fourth quarter of 2010. Resale index pricing in the
former City was $487 psf in Q4-2010 and $518 psf in the Downtown Core. There were 3,538
condominium apartment resale transactions in the fourth quarter in the CMA, with the average
unit selling for $339,000.
“Urbanation expects 15,000 to 17,000 new units to launch in 2011, with approximately 16,000
sales, representing a slight drop-off following the ‘boom’ conditions in 2010” said Myers,
“Moderate growth is expected in the resale condominium market, and Urbanation is forecasting
17,000 resales in 2011.”
ABOUT URBANATION
Urbanation is Canada's leading condominium market research company. Since 1981, Urbanation
has analyzed the Toronto condominium market, publishing the “industry bible” – Urbanation’s
Condominium Market Survey. This quarterly Report tracks new, resale and future condominium
projects. Urbanation also provides the development community with essential consulting
services, which include site and topic specific market studies and surveys.

Starting a Social Media Campaign for your business

To help you create a social media campaign best suited for your business I will be blogging twice a week with information to assist you in your long term goal of an effective, low cost method of promoting you and your business for profit and even a bit of fun. So here goes.
First step in building an effective social media campaign is to start. It is that simple. Do not be intimidated that you cannot do it. Your campaign can be simple or broad. The simple fact is you must start.
Let's break down the most useful Social media components for you to use into the following categories:
- Blooging
- Microblogging
- Social Networking
- Social Bookmarking
- Multimedia
- Reviews and Opinions
- Wikis
Each of these unique techniques have specific elements that can be used to assist you in your approach. For instance in the Social Networking area Facebook has become the leader. Myspace is also a tool that can be used in this area as well.
Blogging has other tools, Blogger, TypePad and WordPress for instance. And so on.
This is the age of Internet 2.0. In Internet 1.0 interaction was one way. An Internet site was set up to inform people. Very little interaction occurred. You informed you clients and customers about you, your business and perhaps your success and achievements. People searched for you and only interacted by email or other one way communication techniques.
Today we expect more two way communication. In Facebook for instance we attempt to have a social experience. The largest growing group in Facebook is women over 55 years of age! This group uses Facebook to interact with children and grand children, friends and family! WOW! Who would have thought!
So let go of your fears, Change your mind set and enjoy the journey.
Next time - Blogging!

Why a no-pet rental clause is unenforceable

Mark Weisleder, Toronto Star January 24, 2011
You’ve rented your home out, and there’s a “no pets” clause in the lease. Tenants sign, and move in, and soon two big dogs are living there too. Can you do anything about it?

In Ontario, unless this is a condominium whose declaration prohibits pets, there is little the landlord can do to remove the dogs.

The Ontario Residential Tenancies Act says that any provision in a lease preventing pets is void. In order to remove the pet, the landlord will have to prove that this pet is actually causing damage to the premises, interfering with the enjoyment of the landlord or the other tenants, is dangerous or perhaps causing an allergic reaction to the other tenants or the landlord.

Third consecutive monthly price decline in November states Teranet-National Bank Composite Price Index

Canadian home prices in November were down 0.2% from the previous month, according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index™. This retreat followed monthly declines of 0.4% in October and 1.1% in September after a run of 16 consecutive increases. November prices were down from the previous month in four of the six metropolitan markets surveyed. Declines of 0.9% in Ottawa and 0.5% in Toronto were each the third in a row. The Calgary decline of 0.7% was the fourth in a row. Halifax prices were down 0.8%. Montreal prices were again flat from the month before. Prices in Vancouver were up 0.6%. After three consecutive months of decline in the composite index, Canadian home prices are still 4.8% above the pre-recession peak of August 2008.
To see the entire article click o nthe link above.