21st
April
Happy Easter to All our Friends, Clients and Family!
19th
April
Gas price hikes push annual inflation rate to 3.3 per cent in March
OTTAWA – Canadian price inflation accelerated in March at the fastest pace in over two years, pushed especially by increases in gas and food prices.
Statistics Canada announced Tuesday that the country’s annual inflation rate surged by 1.1 points to 3.3 per cent last month, the first time the rate has topped three per cent since September 2008, on the eve of the recession.
The month-over-month increase was also 1.1 per cent, and even core inflation, which is closely watched by the Bank of Canada, almost doubled to 1.7 per cent.
With the price of oil skyrocketing past US$100 a barrel, and most of the rest of the world suffering through bouts of inflation, Canada’s consumer price index was widely expected to see a large gain in Tuesday’s report.
But few expected the leap would be so high. Only last week, the Bank of Canada predicted inflation would reach three per cent sometime this spring — that target has now been already surpassed, and may be once again in April if the price of oil does not moderate.
In its analysis, the central bank said it believed high inflation would be a short-term phenomenon and declined to raise interest rates in response. The bank has a mandate to keep inflation within a one-to-three per cent range, and as close to two per cent as possible.
The March report, if it is followed up by outsized gains in the next two months, could convince the bank that it needs to start tightening monetary policy soon, however.
Energy prices, particularly gasoline, were the main contributors to both the annual inflation gain and the sharp one-month increase in prices.
Gas prices were 18.9 per cent higher in March than a year ago, fuel oil and other fuels surged 31.3 per cent, electricity costs increased by 4.3 per cent, and transportation costs, which have a heavy gasoline component, were up 6.6 per cent.
If energy were taken out of the calculation, inflation would have risen to only 2.4 per cent on an annual basis.
But other items also contributed to the prices jump. In fact, there were few exceptions.
Food prices, which has been rising sharply in the emerging world, increased 3.3 per cent in March as the price for fresh vegetables rose by 18.6 per cent and meat rose by five per cent. The agency said cold weather in Mexico and the southern U.S. was mostly responsible for the price spike for vegetables.
Shelter costs, with the exception of mortgage interest, recreation, household operations, health and personal care, alcohol and tobacco, even clothing and footwear, normally downward contributors to inflation, were all higher in March than last year, although the gains were more modest.
The few outliers were computer equipment and supplies, which were 9.9 per cent lower, video equipment, down 10.4 per cent, along with fresh fruit and natural gas.
Regionally, Nova Scotia had the highest inflation rate of any province in Canada at 3.9 per cent, followed by Ontario at 3.6 per cent and Quebec at 3.3. Annual inflation was lowest in Alberta at two per cent.
Original source: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/gas-price-hikes-push-annual-inflation-rate-3-110521581.html
4th
April
SELLING A HOME? What you should know…
As a seller, your relationship with your real estate professional is vital – so meet with several before making your final decision. A good place to start is in your neighbourhood. Check the FOR SALE signs to see who’s doing business in your area. Ask them about their track record, their knowledge of neighbourhood selling prices, and why you should list with them. Choose someone you feel comfortable with; one who will handle the sale of your home as if it were their own.
What you need: One of the first things a real estate professional will ask is why you are selling your home. He or she will also explore any time constraints you might have, your financial situation, and any future plans.
What you want: Arriving at an accurate estimate of value for your home is one of a real estate professional’s primary tasks. It involves analyzing your home and comparing it to other, similar houses for sale or recently sold in the neighbourhood. It may also include a broader market survey, and members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board can access sales statistics available from the Ottawa MLS® system to provide a more accurate picture of what your home can sell for. In the end, you will be sure the price you set reflects the true value of your home under current market conditions.
Marketing your home: Depending on your circumstances, and on the prevailing market, your real estate professional will develop a marketing plan that may include:
- An Open House: There are two kinds of Open House: one is solely for other real estate professionals, so they can assess your home against the needs of their clients; the second is an advertised Open House for all potential buyers. In either case, your real estate professional takes care of all the details and acts on your behalf at your home while you spend the Open House hours elsewhere.
- Listing on Ottawa’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) system. If you are selling a property, listing with a member of the Ottawa Real Estate Board who provides MLS® services means your property gets maximum marketing exposure to all other members of the local Board. Ottawa’s MLS® system provides other members of the Board with detailed information about your property. Every OREB member has the opportunity to find the right buyer for your property. This kind of marketing can be very helpful, especially if you are trying to sell a property quickly.
- Advertising: Effective newspaper advertising, tailored to your home and local market, can be placed for you by your real estate professional. Advertising forms commonly used can include lawn signs, direct mail flyers featuring your home, and online advertising on property search websites. If you work with a member of the Ottawa Real Estate Board and your property is listed on Ottawa’s MLS® system, your home will appear on the Board’s public website, OttawaRealEstate.org, and on the Canadian Real Estate Association’s website REALTOR.ca.
Selling tips: Whether or not your home shows well to prospective buyers can determine how long it stays on the market and the price it sells for. Your real estate professional can give you tips – fresh paint, flowers, keeping the house clutter-free and rearranging furniture – to improve the marketability of your home and create a good first impression.
Get serious: Real estate professionals know how to separate “lookers” from “buyers.” He or she will “pre-qualify” potential buyers to save wear and tear on your home and lifestyle, and to ensure that only serious offers are tendered.
How to close the deal: real estate professionals are experienced in arranging financing and closing deals. On your behalf, he or she will assist in negotiating a better offer, acting as a mediator to head off potential conflicts between you and the buyer, and drawing up a legally binding contract.
Professional service: When you decide to work with a real estate professional to sell your home, you will sign a listing agreement. This is a legal contract that gives your real estate professional the right to act as your exclusive agent in the sale of your house for a specified period. The listing agreement spells out exactly what he or she will do on your behalf, and he or she will take all the time necessary to explain it to you. The agreement will also specify the amount of professional fees to be paid to your real estate professional from the sale of your home. Fees can be set as either a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the selling price of your home.
Most of the actual work done to accomplish the sale is carried out by real estate professionals operating in a broker’s name and for whose actions the broker is legally responsible. A real estate professional’s fees are normally shared with the broker who supplies such essentials as office support, training and consultation services.
Selling your home is a major undertaking. A member of the Ottawa Real Estate Board can ease this sometimes risky, difficult, and frustrating process. A real estate professional has the skills, experience and knowledge to effectively market your home at the best advantage to you.
22nd
March
A spring in the housing market’s step
Spring in our fair city has been good to the resale housing market so far. At the beginning of the
month, the Ottawa Real Estate Board reported a 2.2 per cent increase in sales in April of this year
compared to April 2008. Back in March, sales were up more than seven per cent over the same
month last year. Any way you slice it, that’s good news for both buyers and sellers.
Spring is historically the busiest time in the Ottawa real estate market, and clearly this year is no
exception. Both local and out-of-town buyers are taking advantage of the current low interest
rates as well as Ottawa’s stable housing market. I expect that sales activity will remain very
strong through until the summer.
But don’t take my word for it. Last week the Ottawa real estate market was in the news again,
when the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its spring housing
forecast, in which it stated that Ottawa is one of the four tightest resale markets in the province.
It also said that our employment and economic situation is looking very good here in the national
capital. CMHC’s report says that “Ottawa is well set to reaffirm its historic resilient performance
during broader economic fluctuations, thanks to a stable economy and a robust labour market.”
Even though CMHC is predicting a slight drop in the average sale price of homes in Ottawa this
year, that number does not signify a decline in property values. Rather, it’s due to “current
economic prospects and affordability considerations [that] will continue to favour high-density
construction,” according to CMHC Senior Market Analyst Sandra Pérez Torres. In other words,
people are choosing lower-priced townhomes and condo apartments more often these days.
That’s not surprising, given that many of the buyers currently active in the resale market are
first-timers purchasing starter homes. It’s also notable that CMHC is only predicting a drop of
one-half of one per cent in the average sale price, which is hardly dramatic.
As a working REALTOR® who talks to many colleagues in this business every day, I can tell
you that it’s busy out there. My fellow REALTORS® are reporting many multiple-offer
situations. Buyers are feeling confident and are going after the properties they want – the ones
that are well presented and priced right for the market. So if you’re thinking about buying or
selling a home this spring, consider working with a local REALTOR® who knows how to
navigate the market no matter what you’re looking for.
For more articles: http://www.performancerealty.ca/news.html
16th
March
Ontario electricity prices set to go up
The Canadian Press: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/952062–ontario-electricity-prices-set-to-go-up?bn=1
Ontario Power Generation has been given approval to increase its electricity rates by about one per cent.
The government-owned utility, which supplies about 70 per cent of Ontario’s electricity, had applied to increase the payments it gets from hydroelectric and nuclear stations by 6.2 per cent.
The Ontario Energy Board denied OPG’s request for recovery of costs associated with the refurbishment of the Darlington nuclear station.
The board also told OPG to conduct a number of studies on staffing, compensation, performance and other issues in an effort to address future costs at the utility.
Consumer prices for electricity will be adjusted May 1, as they are every six months, but for consumers not on the regulated price plan, the new rate increases are retroactive to March 1.
OPG earned $649 million on revenue of $5.4 billion in 2010, up from $623 million profit in 2009
