Jason Walker Real Estate in Toronto

TORONTO, November 16, 2010 – Greater Toronto REALTORS reported 3,076 sales through the MLS during the first two weeks of November 2010. This represented a 16 percent decrease compared to the 3,666 sales recorded during the same period in November 2009. Year-To-Date sales amounted to 78,526 – up slightly from the 2009 total. “The number of transactions remained high relative to new listings through the first half of November, promoting a healthy rate of price growth compared to last year,” said TREB President Bill Johnston. The average price for November mid-month transactions was $437,554 – up more than 5 percent compared to the average of $415,066 recorded during the first 14 days of November 2009. “Mortgage payments on the average priced home remain affordable in the GTA based. This is why the average selling price continues to increase,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

TORONTO, November 3, 2010 – Greater Toronto REALTORS reported 6,681 sales through the MLS in October 2010. This represents a 21 percent decrease compared to the 8,476 sales recorded in October 2009. Through the first ten months of the year, sales amounted to 75,582 – up one percent compared to the January through October period in 2009. “The annual change in sales and average selling prices has been quite uniform across the GTA and by property type as the market has balanced out from record levels of sales in the second half of 2009 and first few months of 2010,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Bill Johnston. “The composition of GTA home sales does differ depending on location. Condominium apartments accounted for 42 percent of total sales in the City of Toronto and almost 60 percent of sales in TREB’s central districts,” Johnston continued. “In regions surrounding the City of Toronto, in contrast, low rise home types accounted for almost 90 percent of transactions.” The a

October 29, 2010 -- Toronto SUN Column --Bill Johnston, President of the Toronto Real Estate Board. Energy efficiency used to be a subject to which only the environmentally conscious gave a lot of consideration. Today though, with rising energy costs consuming a greater share of our household budgets, it is something that all of us are thinking about more carefully. While some energy upgrades, like new windows or solar panels, can require a sizable outlay of funds, achieving significant results doesn't have to be a costly undertaking. Sealing air leaks for example is one of the most cost-effective ways to help your home operate more efficiently. Closing off drafts around windows and doors can be achieved with a can of spray foam insulation, a tube of caulking and some weather stripping at minimal expense. You might even consider taking these efforts a step further by topping up the insulation in your attic. Planting trees is another cost effective option that offers many benefits.