Mississauga Real Estate, Homes, TREB & MLS Blog by Mark Argentino

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Mortgage Rate Reaction to Bank of Canada Interest Rate cuts

Hello,

As you are by now aware, the Bank of Canada lowered their prime rate yesterday by 50 basis points (0.50%) to 4.25%.

Typically banks and other lending institutions will match the BOCs rate but in this case, we are seeing decreases of only 25 basis points to 4.5%. The reason why Canadian financial institutions are not reacting as aggressively is due to their own cost of borrowing being significantly higher due to higher risk involved in lending money to each other.

These rate discounts were unscheduled and unexpected as this is the first time since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 that the BOC has made an unscheduled rate change.

Despite the decrease in the prime rate, at least three more lenders increased their 5 year fixed rates yesterday. Will this trend of increasing rates continue despite a lower prime rate? It is hard to predict at this time due to the volatility of the financial institutions over the past few weeks especially.

My guess is that these increasing fixed rates are transitory as it is rumoured that the Bank of Canada will be dropping the prime rate by an additional 50 basis points following their next rate announcement on October 21st.

Today's lowest rates are 5.50% on a five year fixed and FOR TODAY ONLY,

I have mortgage contact that can still offer prime (4.50%) on the variable. As of tomorrow, prime +1% will be the lowest available.

I hope this email finds you and your family healthy and happy!
Mark

RBC reports on the global interest rate cuts of .5% - unprecedented!

The Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Bank of Canada, ECB, Riksbank and Swiss National Bank all cut policy rates by 50 basis points in an unprecedented co-ordinated move on October 8.

Heightened financial market stress that weighed on equity markets and saw LIBOR rates, a proxy for funding costs, spurt higher prompted policymakers to act in an effort to resurrect investor confidence and shore up the financial system.

The numerous actions to-date by governments and central banks across the globe have elicited little joy but, given the magnitude and persistence of these interventions, we expect they will begin to ease strains in financial markets.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Landlord and Tenants and the current rental marketplace

Good morning,

In light of the current economic crisis happening in the US and now in Canada, the rental market in Mississauga remains very tight. Most rental properties $1500 and under rent within a few days of being listed.

You are always safe when you have a rental property that is located near major amenities, such as The Erin Mills Town Centre or Square One or Heartland and one that shows well and is priced according to market rents. These properties tend to be the first ones that rent, everything else follows suit.

My experience also shows that similar to a property that is for sale, when a rental property shows well, it rents right away and at top value rent.

You cannot go wrong using an agent to list your property for rent. Reasons are many, but mainly because corporate relocation tenants and quality tenants all search rentals through the MLS and with an agent. Thus, if you are only trying to save a months rent by trying it yourself, you reduce your potential marketplace considerably. Quality tenants don't have time to scour the rental sections of the newspapers, they want everything online and my site and mls.ca provide this exposure for you.

Besides, how many agents do you know in Mississauga produce a virtual tour slideshow to market your rental property? Not many. Here is a recent example:
http://www.mississauga4sale.com/listings/5525-Palmerston-Crescent-Streetsville-GO.htm

If you need help with your rental property, please send me an email.

Thank you,
Mark

Saturday, October 04, 2008

TREB reports The Greater Toronto Area resale housing market continued at a slower pace through September

October 3, 2008 -- The Greater Toronto Area resale housing market continued at a measured pace through September, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O'Neill announced today.

With 6,424 homes changing hands last month, activity in the GTA declined six per cent compared to the 6,866 sales that took place in September 2007 and declined three per cent compared to the 6,622 transactions that were recorded two years ago.

In the City of Toronto sales were less robust. The 2,546 transactions recorded last month declined 11 per cent from the 2,854 sales in September 2007 and declined five per cent from the 2,680 sales recorded in September 2006. Sales increased six per cent between September 2006 and September 2007.

"We remain concerned about the Land Transfer Tax in the City of Toronto," said Ms. O'Neill.

In the 905 Region, the 3,878 sales recorded last month were within three per cent of September 2007's 4,012 transactions, and within two per cent of September 2006's 3,942 sales. Sales in this region increased two per cent between September 2006 and September 2007.

From a year-to-date perspective, the GTA resale housing market has declined 14 per cent from the 73,827 transactions recorded a year ago. To date, there have been 63,595 sales through the TorontoMLS system this year. In the City of Toronto year-to-date sales have declined 16 per cent from last year's figure of 30,059 to 25,257 transactions this year. In the 905 Region year-todate sales have declined 12 per cent. So far this year there have been 38,338 sales in the 905

Region compared to 43,768 last year. Prices throughout the GTA however, have remained fairly stable. At $368,549, the average price of a GTA home in September has declined three per cent from $380,132 recorded a year ago.

In the City of Toronto, the current average price of $393,647 declined six per cent from the September 2007 average of $420,182. Compared to the September 2006 average of $371,682 though, prices in Toronto for September 2008 have increased six per cent.

In the 905 Region, the average price of $352,071, increased marginally from the $351,641 recorded in September 2007, and was up five per cent from 2006 September average of $333,818.

"Although the market is not as robust as it was a year ago, homeowners are continuing to see strong returns on their investment," said Ms. O'Neill. "On average, Sellers are achieving 97 per cent of their asking price.

With the average number of days on market increasing to 36 days from to 31 days a year ago, it is taking slightly longer for homeowners to achieve a sale.

"Even with respect to sales activity, each month we continue to see a handful of neighbourhoods reporting increases compared to a year ago."

In Scarborough East (E08) transactions increased 22 per cent compared to September 2007 based on strong sales of all housing types.

Streetsville (W19) saw an 11 per cent sales increase due primarily to strong detached home sales.

In Newmarket (N07) transactions increased 11 per cent compared to a year ago, driven mainly by strong condominium townhouse sales.

"Given that these are trying times for the world economy, in context, the Greater Toronto Area resale housing market continues to fare quite well," said Ms. O'Neill. "From a long-term perspective, buying a home remains a sound financial decision."

Greater Toronto REALTORS® are passionate about their work. They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Serving over 28,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area, the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canada's largest real estate board.

October Report - Prices down about 3% and sales volumes down about 6% compaing year over year figures

October Report - Prices down about 3% and sales volumes down about 6% compaing year over year figures

TREB is stating that the GTA Resale Housing Price and Sales were Measured in September

October 3, 2008 -- TREB Members reported 6,424 sales of single family dwellings in September, down about six per cent from the 6,866 sales recorded during September of last year, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O'Neill announced today.

However, the 6,424 sales reported for September 2008 is down just three per cent from the 6,622 figure recorded in September 2006. To keep in perspective, September 2007's 6,866 sales was the second best figure ever recorded for that month.

The overall transaction figure for September masks significant regional differences. Within the City of Toronto sales registered 2,546, down 11 per cent from the 2,854 figure recorded in September of 2007 but down five per cent from the 2,680 recorded during the same month in 2006. In the 905 suburbs, the 3,878 sales that went through TorontoMLS were down three per cent from last year's 4,012 sales, and down two per cent over the 2006 total of 3,942 sales.

Overall, GTA prices declined three per cent from their year-ago levels to an average of $368,549 from the September 2007 figure of $380,132. As with sales, the GTA's regions fared quite differently on average price during the month. The average within The City of Toronto, at $393,647, fell six per cent from September 2007's $420,182 but rose six per cent from the $371,682 recorded in the same month of 2006. Meanwhile prices in the 905 districts, at $352,071, rose marginally from the $351,641 recorded in 2007, and was up five per cent from 2006 September figure of $333,818.

Breaking down the total, 2,539 sales were reported in TREB's 28 West districts and averaged $352,249; 1,067 sales were reported in the 14 Central districts and averaged $464,397; 1,220 sales were reported in the 23 North districts and averaged $407,424; and 1,598 sales were reported in TREB's 21 East districts and averaged $300,772.

GTA Resale Housing Remains Steady Throughout Summer Months

Friday, October 03, 2008

"When life hands you a lemon, say, 'Oh yeah, I like lemons. What else ya got?'"

Another set of valuable life lessons to learn from and to help you get
through the day...

Enjoy!

Mark

_______

"When life hands you a lemon, say, 'Oh yeah, I like lemons. What else ya
got?'"

The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows.

Money doesn't always bring happiness. People with ten million dollars are
no happier than people with nine million dollars.

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the
right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

"It took me seventeen years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one
afternoon on the golf course."

"If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the
significance of a clean desk?"

"A signature always reveals a man's character - and sometimes even his
name."

"Free advice is worth the price."

"A good listener is usually thinking about something else."

"We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities ybrilliantly
disguised as insoluble problems."

"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time."

"One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do
and always a clever thing to say."

"Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly
everything, money is handy."

"Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy."

"A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."

"There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that
others might pick them up."

"A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't
need it."

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the
next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is
nothing."

"Never take the advice of someone who has not had your kind of trouble"

"In spite of the cost of living, it's still popular."

If some great catastrophe is not announced every morning, we feel a certain
void. Nothing in the paper today, we sigh.

History is the sum total of things that could have been avoided.

As long as your going to be thinking anyway, think big.

The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows.

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security
will deserve neither and lose both.

The five essential entrepreneurial skills for success: Concentration,
Discrimination, Organization, Innovation and Communication.

Current mortage interest rates in the GTA

TERM	POSTED	Obtainable RATES
6 Month	6.20%	6.20%
1 Year	6.35%	4.70%
2 Year	6.70%	5.09%
3 Year	7.05%	5.19%
4 Year	7.04%	5.25%
5 Year	7.20%	5.39%
7 Year	7.65%	5.55%
10 Year	8.00%	5.55%
Variable Rate		4.50%
Prime Rate		4.75%

Rates Last Updated: Thursday, October 02, 2008

These are some of the best rates out in the marketplace.

If you need a mortgage broker referral, please send me a quick email.

Thank you,

Mark

Housing Market Indicators in Mississauga and the GTA

This table below shows the average figures from the last month's statistics. It shows that the market has softened since a year ago.

For more information please contact A. Mark Argentino

Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) Average Prices and Graph

A. Mark Argentino, Broker, P.Eng.,
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc., Brokerage
2691 Credit Valley Road, Suite 101, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 7A1

BUS. 905-828-3434
FAX. 905-828-2829
E-MAIL: mark@mississauga4sale.com
Website: Mississauga4Sale.com

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Mississauga Real Estate Market and our collective Psyche - a snapshot

Good evening,

If you are like me, you are nervous about the state of the real estate market and financial markets here in Mississauga, the GTA and for that matter, all across Canada. This financial market meltdown has been prolonged and deep.

So where are we today in our marketplace. This is a short synopsis of my situation and provides a snapshot to look back upon in 3 to 6 months from now.

I looked at my rrsp's today and they have dropped about 20% since July of this year. Same thing goes for my resp for my children, probably 25% drop with those. My stocks have been free falling for about 3 months and the end seems nowhere in sight. What a ride we've been on for the past few months.

This financial meltdown caused by the financial 'crisis' in the US has now impacted our GTA market. This is not helping our local real estate market.

There are other factors that are affecting our local economy too. There is an upcoming federal election in a few weeks, finally an election in the US next month, (after what seems like about 2 years of campaigning) and uncertainly in many industries. The price of a barrel of oil has yo-yo'd between $100/ barrel to $135 and now back to about $105. The gasoline price at the pumps has also gone up and down like the roller coasters at Wonderland. And it seems like the price went up and stayed up much longer and higher compared to the shorter and lower regions.

All of the above would indicate that we too are heading for financial troubles here in the GTA. As any of you know, I am an eternal optimist, I think positively about every situation, try to look at the positive side of things in life, have a positive outlook on life and try to avoid reading the papers too much to reduce negative thoughts. With all of this said, even I have become a little skittish over the past couple of weeks.

I don't think that our GTA real estate marketplace will follow the lead of the US real estate meltdown. With that said, it does appear that our market has changed. I noticed this subtle change last fall in our market. The larger homes and more expensive properties were taking longer to sell last fall. Properties that are not 'staged' or near 'perfect' condition were selling in a week last fall, now they are taking a month or two, if they sell at all in our current market. Townhomes in Mississauga still seem to be selling like hotcakes. This may be because they are still quite affordable and appeal to a large segment of the market. Condos too are still selling well, in spite of nearly 500 condos for sale in the Square One area alone! In the W15 area which surrounds Square One, but south of the 403 there are 463 condos currently for sale. 463 condos is a great deal of properties. With that said, they too are selling well.

One of the beautiful things about turning 50 (and there are not many), which recently occurred in my life, is that for some reason you feel like you have earned the right to tell people how you feel because you have paid your dues. Now I know why 'old' people talk so much, they too feel they've earned the right to do so and I am no different!

The negativity in the press and the economy over the past 3 or 4 months is having a negative effect on our marketplace. As well, all of this negativity has also affected our psyche. When our psyche is affected, many of us stop spending and tighten our spending. This in turn slows down demand for all products and services and the problems increase.

We have problems in the manufacturing sector that have been ongoing for about 2 years. We see the effect of this directly on prices of small and large ticket items. See how the price of new vehicles has dropped and is now very close to the price in the US, unheard of 5 years ago. Our dollar was above par for some period of time in the last year, first time since the mid 70's but it back again to just below par, about 95 cents compared to the US dollar. Still close to par.

So where am I going with all this? Our Mississauga and GTA market may slow somewhat over the next couple of months due to the reasons above. our market is typically slow in late November and certainly December is our slowest month of the year. January can be a slow month in real estate depending upon the weather. So, with a slow October, we are looking at 3 or 4 months of slower than previous year 4th quarters.

I believe that once the US president is sworn into office in January the US economy will begin to improve, if only due to 'hope' Hope is everything in life and the US will be no different. Hope will affect our psyche. Once we have hope, we will begin to spend again which will in turn help the economy. People in the US feel it will be 5 years or longer to return to where they were 12 months ago.

All of this reminds of the graph that is shown on my site at http://www.mississauga4sale.com/Market-Emotions-Cycle.htm that shows the emotions of the market. It's a great graph and certainly we in Canada are between the two points of Fear and Desperation. Does this mean that we must continue on the downward slide into panic, despondency and depression? I hope that we can go from Fear and Desperation to Hope, but only time will tell.

We are in for an interesting ride over the next 3 to 6 months. Let's hope that we can reach "hope" and "relief" sooner rather than later.

I wish you all the best to you and your family.

Mark

Monday, September 29, 2008

Guaranteed Financial Freedom and Success in Life

Here is my idea and plan for you to succeed in Life. No kidding, this is the bottom line.

Putting your ideas and plans into action that is most important, you have to have the desire and persistence to stay with your plan for the long term. This will absolutely guarantee you financial freedom in the long term. Nothing else can 'guarantee' you financial success except for this below.

I guarantee that you will be financially independent if you invest for the long term in real estate. If you save 10% of your income per year and buy one small townhouse every 2 to 3 years from now for the next 15 years, you will own 5 to 7 townhomes. If you follow my investment and mortgage philosophy, the tenants will pay off your mortgages for you during this time period. On the first townhouse you will be mortgage free in 20 years. So, if you are 35 to 45 today, you will be completely mortgage free on your first townhouse you purchased when you are 55 or 65.

Now, even if they don't go up one dime in the next 20 years, you will have a steady income stream and equity of $260,000 in the first investment property.

Of course the above analysis is absurd, because the townhouse you bought today for $250,000 will be worth at least $350,000 to $500,000 in 20 years, and rents will likely be about $2000 - $2500 per month for that same townhouse, hard to believe isn't it, and you will be very financially secure, just by taking 10% of your income today and buying real estate for the long run.

If you don't believe it, ask yourself how much a townhouse was 20 years ago that is selling for $250,000 today. I can tell you, since 1987 was the year I got into real estate. You could purchase a townhouse for about $100,000 to $125,000 back in '88

I bought a brand new 1988 Honda Accord EXi in 1988, it cost me $24,800 and in 1999 I sold that car for $2500. I just checked the Honda website, the same car is about $33,000 Point is, things were cheap back in 88 compared to today.

1988 was almost the height of the last real estate boom in Ontario. If you purchased the same townhouse in 1985 or 1994 you would be even further ahead of the game.

We've had an unprecedented rise in real estate from 1995 to 2008. 13 years of growth. Some of those years saw huge double digit growth. I don't believe we will see double digit growth in the next few years, but real estate will continue to be a good long term investment in the west GTA.

I wish you All the best!
Mark

Mississauga Real Estate, Homes, TREB & MLS Blog by Mark Argentino

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Mortgage Rate Reaction to Bank of Canada Interest Rate cuts

RBC reports on the global interest rate cuts of .5% - unprecedented!

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Landlord and Tenants and the current rental marketplace

Saturday, October 04, 2008

TREB reports The Greater Toronto Area resale housing market continued at a slower pace through September

October Report - Prices down about 3% and sales volumes down about 6% compaing year over year figures

Friday, October 03, 2008

"When life hands you a lemon, say, 'Oh yeah, I like lemons. What else ya got?'"

Current mortage interest rates in the GTA

Housing Market Indicators in Mississauga and the GTA

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Mississauga Real Estate Market and our collective Psyche - a snapshot

Monday, September 29, 2008

Guaranteed Financial Freedom and Success in Life

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