A market analysis provides you with the recent selling prices in the building or area you are looking at. Before making an offer, you want to check what homes are selling for and what the trend is in prices. You also should check the price appreciation on the home you are looking at to evaluate [...]

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There are a few good things happening which will positively impact Toronto housing: continuing strong immigration levels, low mortgage rates, a declining gasoline price, a lower dollar enhancing our export competitiveness, strong employment levels, a growing entertainment scene (AGO opening), favorable government fiscal management, possibly winning the Pan Am games and increased infrastructure spending by [...]

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The leaves are now off the trees. What’s next? Of course, winter. You need to prepare your home for it. Here are a few tasks you want to undertake … quickly! 1. Clean furnace, ducts, humidifier, chimney and fireplace, 2. Vacuum smoke detectors, 3. Check gauge on all fire extinguishers, 4. Clean drains in dishwasher, [...]

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You might have heard the strategy of buying the worst house on the street. The reasoning is that after you spend some time with renovations you can expect a huge jump in value. Before you adopt this strategy, ask yourself; does the idea of dedicating my weekends to home improvement projects appeal to me? 

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You are probably so tired of hearing ‘location, location, location’ when looking to buy. Instead, we recommend for home buyers to scout out areas next to hot neighborhoods. You will find lower prices and the market moving your way. So, go and spend some time in hot neighborhoods and then journey outside of them. An [...]

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Our advice is to give the market some time to adjust. Many sellers have not yet come to the realization that they won’t get the $$$ they once expected. You should, however, prepare as you want to be able to seize on opportunities. So, get a mortgage pre-approval and get your realtor to send you [...]

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A few tips for the savvy home buyer looking for a deal as home prices decline: 1. Create a home search profile and get your realtor to automatically send you listings that match. We are going to start seeing deals soon as prices continue to decline. Don’t miss the opportunity. 2. Get a mortgage preapproval [...]

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We have been receiving a number of emails from college students. Our advice to you is to enjoy college life and consider buying a home. Rather than wasting rental income you can graduate with some home equity by buying a home in first year. One hitch - you will need your parents. I suggest approaching [...]

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 1. Buy a home using a Buyingblock.com agent, well versed on energy rebates. 2. Buyingblock.com will arrange an energy audit for you at time of home inspection or sometime prior to close. The audit will determine your potential rebate and the costs of the renovations. Use our energy audit chart to determine an approximate value of [...]

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Domestic banking structure has shielded Canadians in times of trouble 
TORONTO – Amid widespread reports of ever-broadening global financial turmoil, experts point to Canada’s history of dodging the crisis bullet as proof that the system here works.  Owed largely to conservative banking legislation, Canada has always fared far better than other industrialized nations in times of [...]

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