The federal government has abruptly cancelled the extremely popular retrofit rebate program that gave homeowners across Canada rebates of up to $5,000 when they performed energy-efficient renovations such as replacing windows and insulating their walls.

The popular ecoEnergy retrofit rebate program has been cancelled.

The program was initially slated to end on March 31st, but was instead cancelled earlier this week after the program reached the limit of applicants.

Homeowners who participated in the program had to first undergo an energy audit, which would spell out all of the renovations that could be made in their home. Then after completing the renovations, a second audit would need to be conducted in order for homeowners to qualify for rebates.

Homeowners had until March 31st to apply initially, but now homeowners already in the program have to finish their renovations by that date and no new applications are being accepted. Homeowners in the program have until June 30th to have their second energy audit conducted.

Last time the Retrofit Rebate program was in place, it was also cancelled early for the same reasons. It’s a popular program that creates jobs for the construction industry, and gives homeowners a break when they want to update their home. One lesson homeowners should learn from the cancellation is that if it does come back: apply as soon as possible!

EcoEnergy Retrofit Rebate Program Cancelled Early is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

Many people are uncertain as to whether now – of all times – would be a wise idea to buy a home in Toronto. Toronto real estate lawyer and writer Mark Weisleder pointed out in his most recent column that in his 28 years on the job, he hasn’t seen so many positive signs for housing before. Here’s why:

There's never been so many reasons to buy a home in Toronto.

Immigration

Canada is appealing to immigrants for many reasons, including a steady real estate market. Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area in particular are top destinations for immigrants to come and live, and when they do, they often buy homes, keeping the GTA and Toronto real estate markets strong.

We aren’t like the US

The housing market disaster we’ve seen in the United States simply can’t happen here. Foreclosures in the US are at an all-time high, with approximately 7 million homes underwater and the same number already foreclosed upon. As banks repossess these homes and put them back on the market, they drag down prices across the board.

In Canada, over 99 per cent of Canadians are paying their mortgages on time, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Historically-low mortgage rates

Mortgage rates across Canada are currently the lowest they’ve ever been.

You can read the full column here at the Moneyville website.

Mark Weisleder is a lawyer and author who frequently writes about the Toronto Real Estate industry. for the Toronto Star and the Star’s sister site, Moneyville. Visit his website here.

Why It’s A Good Time To Buy Toronto Real Estate is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

Toronto Home for Sale: 225 Victoria Park Avenue, Toronto Ontario

$394,800
Two bedroom, semi-detached home
2 Baths

This two-bedroom semi is located in the Upper Beaches neighbourhood, which is close to the water front, great shopping, restaurants and plenty of park spaces.

Enjoy your fully-fenced private backyard and the fragrant lilac trees that bloom along side the home every spring.

This home is bright and cozy, with a spa-like, four-piece bathroom. It’s up-to-date, with the new furnace installed in 2004 and brand-new central air installed in 2011. parking around back. The home also has central vacuuming.

Included: Stainless steel fridge and stove, dishwasher, washer, dryer, electric light fixtures and window coverings.

For more about this property, including floor plans, a video tour and more photos, visit this Toronto Real Estate Team Listing here.

Hot New Toronto Real Estate Listing In Upper Beaches is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

How’s the Toronto Real Estate Market faring in 2012 so far? Quite well! The Toronto Real Estate Board has just released its mid-month resale housing figures for January 2012, which covers Toronto home sales through the Toronto MLS Listings for the first two months of January in 2012.

Toronto Real Estate sales are doing well even early in 2012. Think warm thoughts!

“The market didn’t miss a beat after the holiday season, with robust sales growth continuing and sellers’ market conditions remaining in place,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President, Richard Silver, in a press release about the mid-month housing figures. “Strong competition between buyers continued to push the average selling price higher in the Greater Toronto Area relative to a year ago.”

GTA real estate agents reported 1,506 sales using the Toronto MLS Listings during this time period, which is an increase of six per cent. New listings also increased over the same time period, rising 3.7 per cent over last year.

To see the full press release, including average prices and sales by property type and area code, click here!

Toronto Real Estate Sales In 2012 – So Far is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

Renovate Your Toronto Real Estate To Sell

The majority of us Toronto homeowners plan to sell – someday, even if it’s not within the next few years. And some of us may desire a new home, but it’s just not feasible or within our financial goals to move this year.

Which renovations are worth your time - and money?

You can get that new-home feel by renovating, and making your renovations cost-effective by choosing the renovations that will give you the highest return on your investment in the terms of dollars when you sell.

The best way to get the highest return is to give yourself the kitchen or bathroom you’ve always wanted, according to the Appraisal Institute of Canada. When you perform a major kitchen or bathroom upgrade, you can expect to get the highest return: between 75% and 100% of your original investment.

But because kitchen and bathroom upgrades can be the more expensive of your renovation options, here are some other less expensive renovations that also offer a high return on your investment:

Interior and/or exterior painting – 50%-100%
Finishing your basement – 50%-80%
Adding a family room – 50%-75%
Installing hardwood flooring – 50%-75%

Some renovations/home additions surprisingly offer a very low return on investment and might be a bit of a waste of money if you’re renovating with selling in mind:

Installing a swimming pool – 10%-40%
Paving your driveway – 20%-50$
Installing skylights – 0%-25%

If you want to see real numbers, check out the Appraisal Institute of Canada’s RENOVA tool. You can plug in how much you expect to spend on a renovation and see your estimated return.

Renovating Your Toronto Real Estate is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

This week, Toronto city council approved a 2.5 per cent residential tax increase for 2012. And to follow the example that all major local news outlets are using, this would add $60 to the current Toronto property tax bill for a home that is assessed at $447,090 – or what’s considered average.

Dust off the old calculator - should you get a Toronto property tax assessment?

Now, $60 isn’t a huge pile of money, but it’s still more than you were paying before. And, you might actually already be paying more than your fair share. Your property tax amount is based on your property tax assessment, which can be too high. An appeal of a property tax assessment that is too high can lead to literally thousands of dollars saved.

Homes along the residential streets of downtown Toronto are more likely to experience a tax assessment that is incorrect and too high. This is because in the sometimes monotonous suburbs, all the houses are of similar size and value because they were often constructed at the same time and by the same builder, as is the case with many neighbourhood developments. These homes are likely to all have the same property tax assessment and can be compared to one another easily.

In downtown Toronto, the homes are very unique and different across the board. You could have new construction, a single-detached older home and a small bungalow all on the same street.

If you’re concerned about your property tax assessment being too high, chat with nearby homeowners who live in homes similar to yours with respect to size, age and design. A discrepancy between tax assessments in similar homes could raise a red flag, but keep in mind that things you can’t see inside of the home – such as a brand new kitchen or master bathroom renovation – can also affect the home’s overall value and therefore the property tax assessment.

Note that for this tax year, the deadline to file a Request for Reconsideration (RfR) with the City of Toronto is April 2, 2012. This review is free of charge. Visit the City of Toronto website for more information.

Getting Your Toronto Property Tax Assessment is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

December MLS sales totalled 4,718 houses and condominiums in all the districts.  This sales number was up 7.3% from one year ago and came in as the 3^rd best December in TREB history.

36.2% of the market sales were condo townhouses and high-rise suites with 1,710 units changing hands during the month.

Sales for this year totalled 89,347 homes That made 2011 the 2^nd best year for sales in the Toronto Real Estate Board’s history after 2007.

The December average sale price came in at $451,436 – up 4% from one year ago. The average for the year was $465,412,  up 7.9% from 2010.

East of Yonge and south of Bloor in the C08 downtown TREB district, the condo sales price average was $412,843 while west of Yonge in C01 the average was $409,572.

Watch the video below for the full report.

Toronto Hits Number Two For Real Estate Sales in 2011 is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

The latest numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board show that 2011 was officially the best sales year on record for Toronto real estate and four per cent higher than in 2010 with a total 89,347 sales.

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, 2011 might have taken the top place had their been more listings in the GTA.

“Low borrowing costs kept buyers confident in their ability to comfortably cover their mortgage payments along with other major housing costs,” said Richard Silver, the president of the Toronto Real Estate Board. “If buyers had not been constrained by a shortage of listings over the past 12 months, we would have been flirting with a new sales record in the Greater Toronto Area.”

For the full press release, visit here.

Are you thinking of buying a home this year? Search our featured Toronto Real Estate Listings here.

December Numbers From Toronto Real Estate Board Make Second-Best Record Official is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

While Toronto has had an unusually warm winter this year, the next few months are still going to be filled with the dreary overcast days of winter. This time can be a slow one for the Toronto real estate market, just before it picks up in the spring. If you want to sell your home in the coming months, here are a few home staging tips when selling your home in the winter:

Make sure you take down your home holiday decorations long before listing.

1.  Choose pictures from the spring or summer months for your listing.

No one wants to feel like they’re snowed in before they even move in. And while photos from the spring or summertime will show a home somewhat different from what your home looks like now, it will let potential buyers know how they’ll be living on warmer days: maybe you have a gorgeous patio or garden that winter photos simply can’t do much justice, but that will appeal to potential buyers.

2. Don’t forget about curb appeal, even in the winter months.

Most winters, it would be easy to recommend that you simply ensure your driveway and any walkways are thoroughly plowed, de-iced and cleared all winter long – a beautiful blanket of snow does the rest by giving your yard that clean yet soft appearance. This winter though, most front and back yards are looking dreadful thanks to a lack of snow and a combination of dormant gardens and brown grass. You can still do your best by parking your cars in your garage, removing any dead branches or leaves from your property and by putting out a new, clean welcome mat.

3. De-personalize as usual.

When staging a home for sale, always de-clutter and de-personalize as usual by putting as many of your personal effects as possible into storage or away and out of sight. This time of year, that includes holiday decorations.

4. Make your home bright and sunny.

Winter is dark, but you can brighten and warm up your interior by having your windows professionally cleaned to maximize indoor sunlight and replace your current light bulbs with higher-wattage ones. Turn on all of your lights before a showing – it’s not the most energy-efficient way to show a home, but it may pay off in the end.

Want more home staging tips? Consider our Room-by-Room home staging review for your Toronto home.

Tips For Selling Your House During The Winter Months is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale

With the passing into a new year comes new goals and resolutions, in an effort to make this year a great one. Maybe one of your New Year’s resolutions was to finally buy a home this year or at least get yourself in a better position financially so you can realize your homeownership dreams. If you want to start looking for a new home by the end of this year, there is no better time to patch up your credit than right now.

Fix your credit to get yourself into the best position to buy a Toronto home.

Your credit history affects your mortgage a great deal. If you have poor or no credit history, you may not be able to get a mortgage at all. In addition, a better credit history will get you more desirable rates.

If you have no credit history, you can begin building your credit by applying for a low-interest credit card through your bank. Use this credit card for small purchases, and pay it off each month.

If you’re unsure of your credit standings or worry about having poor credit history, you should get yourself a copy of your credit report. The two major credit reporting companies in Canada are Equifax and TransUnion.

You are entitled to one free credit report per year from these companies, and you must mail in your application and copies of your required identification in order to get them. Alternatively, both companies offer online versions for about $20, while you can also get your credit score for a few dollars more.

Avoid “free” credit report companies, because there really isn’t any such thing except for your one free credit report per year from the aforementioned credit bureaus. Most of the “free” credit report companies will make you sign up for a monthly credit monitoring service in order to get your free report.

Knowing what your lenders will see with regards to your credit report is a great place to start when preparing to buy a home. First, check your report for any mistakes, such as accounts you’ve never opened that are under your name. Mistakes on credit reports are common, and credit bureaus usually have tools on their websites so you can report inaccuracies, mistakes or fraud.

The credit report itself shows your history with each form of credit that you have, with regards to payments being made on time, late or not at all. TransUnion reports, for example, contain a colour-coded chart listing all of the months in a year, where red months were missed payments, green months were on-time and pink months were a certain number of days late. You may also have a score and rating. Your score will be a three digit number ranging from 300 to 800 or higher (the higher the better) while your rating will consist of the letter “R” followed by a number (the lower the better). For example, R1 is a great rating whereas an R9 is a bad debt or collection.

Now that you have your credit report, you can track your progress throughout the year and see your credit improve once you take the steps to fix it. The best way to improve your credit is to make on time payments on all of your loans or credit cards – even just the minimum payment if you can, as long as it is on time. You can even set up automatic monthly payments through your bank so you won’t forget. Other steps to take include lowering your balances on your loans (if you carry a balance over 50% of your loan, you’ll lower your score) as well as avoiding applying for new credit, because this also lowers your score.

2012: Is This The Year You Finally Buy A Home In Toronto? is a post from: Toronto Real Estate | Toronto MLS Listings | Toronto Homes For Sale