Here is the link for the Kitchener Craft Beer Show and Rib Fest at Victoria Park from July 15 to July 17th! Weather should be perfect!
http://www.kitchenerribandbeerfest.com/main2.cfm
Here is the link for the Special Event Kitchener Turtle Project at the Huron Natural Area Event at 801 Trillium Drive on July 16th from 1-4 PM. Great family event and there is no charge! http://www.kitchener.ca/en/livinginkitchener/HuronNaturalArea.asp
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Report Released Today Shows Toronto Ahead of Vancouver as the Most Expensive Canadian City to Live In.
A recent Mercer report of global cost of living shows again why the Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Market continues to be a stable and viable place to invest money. As the cost of living in Toronto erodes affordabiliy there, home buyers move westward and creat demand for real estate here.
This article below from the Globe and Mail lists the world's most expensive city's.
Toronto has topped Vancouver to become most expensive city in the country to live in.
Toronto surpassed pricey Vancouver due to its relatively high rental accommodation costs, Mercer’s global cost-of-living survey, to be released Tuesday, shows. Canada’s largest city moved up to 59th spot worldwide from the 76th position last year.
Vancouver climbed to 65th place from 75th last year, and is followed by Montreal and Calgary. Ottawa is the least expensive Canadian city in the rankings.
Canada as a whole is becoming more expensive relative to other cities because of the strength of the Canadian dollar, it says.
The survey covers 214 cities in five continents and tracks the cost of 200 items in each place including housing, transport, food, clothing and entertainment. Mercer calls it the world’s most comprehensive cost-of-living survey, which is designed to help multinationals plan compensation allowances for their expatriate staff.
This year’s survey comes as “the world witnessed an incredible number of natural disasters and political upheavals that have all affected the lives of expatriate employees to some extent,” said Nathalie Constantin-Métral, Mercer’s senior researcher who compiled the ranking.
Currency fluctuations and the impact of inflation on goods and services -- gas prices in particular -- sparked shuffling on the list, she said.
Luanda, Angola is the world’s most expensive city due to its record high accommodation prices, followed by Tokyo, N’Djamena, Chad, Moscow and Geneva. The least expensive city in the world to live in, for the second year running, is Karachi, Pakistan.
Brazil has galloped up the rankings, and the country’s major cities are now among the world’s most expensive.
Sao Paulo has the 10th-highest cost of living on the planet, zooming up from 21st place last year, according to Mercer’s annual survey. Rio de Janeiro leapt to 12th spot from 29th place in 2010.
The two South American cities are now more expensive to live in than Oslo, London or Seoul, as inflation has ballooned and its currency, the real, strengthened.
This article below from the Globe and Mail lists the world's most expensive city's.
Toronto has topped Vancouver to become most expensive city in the country to live in.
Toronto surpassed pricey Vancouver due to its relatively high rental accommodation costs, Mercer’s global cost-of-living survey, to be released Tuesday, shows. Canada’s largest city moved up to 59th spot worldwide from the 76th position last year.
Vancouver climbed to 65th place from 75th last year, and is followed by Montreal and Calgary. Ottawa is the least expensive Canadian city in the rankings.
Canada as a whole is becoming more expensive relative to other cities because of the strength of the Canadian dollar, it says.
The survey covers 214 cities in five continents and tracks the cost of 200 items in each place including housing, transport, food, clothing and entertainment. Mercer calls it the world’s most comprehensive cost-of-living survey, which is designed to help multinationals plan compensation allowances for their expatriate staff.
This year’s survey comes as “the world witnessed an incredible number of natural disasters and political upheavals that have all affected the lives of expatriate employees to some extent,” said Nathalie Constantin-Métral, Mercer’s senior researcher who compiled the ranking.
Currency fluctuations and the impact of inflation on goods and services -- gas prices in particular -- sparked shuffling on the list, she said.
Luanda, Angola is the world’s most expensive city due to its record high accommodation prices, followed by Tokyo, N’Djamena, Chad, Moscow and Geneva. The least expensive city in the world to live in, for the second year running, is Karachi, Pakistan.
Brazil has galloped up the rankings, and the country’s major cities are now among the world’s most expensive.
Sao Paulo has the 10th-highest cost of living on the planet, zooming up from 21st place last year, according to Mercer’s annual survey. Rio de Janeiro leapt to 12th spot from 29th place in 2010.
The two South American cities are now more expensive to live in than Oslo, London or Seoul, as inflation has ballooned and its currency, the real, strengthened.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Beautiful Family Home in Very Sought After Area of Townline Estates
Here is the link to my newest listing - great area, large lot and more than 2,700 square feet of living space. MLS#1131125
http://www.digitalnewmedia.ca/louie/hamer
http://www.digitalnewmedia.ca/louie/hamer
Summer Home Sales in Waterloo Region Remain High
When Summer heats up it is tratidionally a time when the real estate market cools down - except for this year. June's sales showed an increase for the second straight month in a row.
The article below from the K-W Record gives all the numbers.
The article below from the K-W Record gives all the numbers.
WATERLOO REGION — For George Patton, June is usually weddings and barbecue season.
With those kinds of distractions, the last thing many people have on their minds is buying or selling a house.
So the president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors was pleasantly surprised to see a five per cent increase in real estate sales last month compared to a year ago.
It was the second straight month of increases after a slow start to the year.
A total of 670 residential properties changed hands in June, up from 638 in June of 2010 in the area served by the association, which includes Kitchener, Waterloo and the townships of Woolwich, Wilmot and Wellesley.
Sales were also up in Cambridge where 268 properties found new owners in June, a 5.5 per cent increase over a year ago.
“The first four months of the year got off to a sluggish and somewhat damp start,” Patton said Wednesday. “But now we are seeing the second month of a delayed spring market shifting into full gear.”
While June sales rose, year-to-date sales for the K-W association are 5.4 per cent lower than 2010. A total of 3,443 properties have changed hands, down from 3,638 for the first six months of last year.
But last year’s totals were “exceptional” because people were rushing to buy or sell before higher interest rates and the HST kicked in, Patton said.
Year-to-date sales are also in line with the five-year average, the association said.
With no significant increases in interest rates on the horizon, he’s optimistic for the rest of the year.
The average sale price in the Kitchener area rose 3.6 per cent to $302,323 from a year ago. In 2002 that same property fetched $176,033.
Single detached homes sold for an average of $344,509, an increase of four per cent.
For the year so far, the only category to record an increase in sales was condominiums, which rose 4.5 per cent to 653 units. Sales of detached homes fell 5.4 per cent to 2,256 units, semi-detached dipped three per cent to 292 units and townhouses fell 28.7 per cent to 211 units.
The growth in condo sales is reflected in the number of units being built around the region, said Patton. “Obviously it’s a lifestyle that many people are choosing.”
The dollar volume of sales for the six months fell 1.9 per cent to just over $1 billion.
In Cambridge, average prices rose 3.9 per cent to $287,549.
The busiest category was homes in the $250,000 to $349,999 range where 113 properties changed hands.
“Demand came in stronger than expected in June,” Val Brooks, president of the Cambridge Real Estate Board, said Wednesday in a news release.
For the first six months of 2011, 1,563 properties were sold in the Cambridge area, down 0.7 per cent from last year’s first-half total of 1,574 units.
With those kinds of distractions, the last thing many people have on their minds is buying or selling a house.
So the president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors was pleasantly surprised to see a five per cent increase in real estate sales last month compared to a year ago.
It was the second straight month of increases after a slow start to the year.
A total of 670 residential properties changed hands in June, up from 638 in June of 2010 in the area served by the association, which includes Kitchener, Waterloo and the townships of Woolwich, Wilmot and Wellesley.
Sales were also up in Cambridge where 268 properties found new owners in June, a 5.5 per cent increase over a year ago.
“The first four months of the year got off to a sluggish and somewhat damp start,” Patton said Wednesday. “But now we are seeing the second month of a delayed spring market shifting into full gear.”
While June sales rose, year-to-date sales for the K-W association are 5.4 per cent lower than 2010. A total of 3,443 properties have changed hands, down from 3,638 for the first six months of last year.
But last year’s totals were “exceptional” because people were rushing to buy or sell before higher interest rates and the HST kicked in, Patton said.
Year-to-date sales are also in line with the five-year average, the association said.
With no significant increases in interest rates on the horizon, he’s optimistic for the rest of the year.
The average sale price in the Kitchener area rose 3.6 per cent to $302,323 from a year ago. In 2002 that same property fetched $176,033.
Single detached homes sold for an average of $344,509, an increase of four per cent.
For the year so far, the only category to record an increase in sales was condominiums, which rose 4.5 per cent to 653 units. Sales of detached homes fell 5.4 per cent to 2,256 units, semi-detached dipped three per cent to 292 units and townhouses fell 28.7 per cent to 211 units.
The growth in condo sales is reflected in the number of units being built around the region, said Patton. “Obviously it’s a lifestyle that many people are choosing.”
The dollar volume of sales for the six months fell 1.9 per cent to just over $1 billion.
In Cambridge, average prices rose 3.9 per cent to $287,549.
The busiest category was homes in the $250,000 to $349,999 range where 113 properties changed hands.
“Demand came in stronger than expected in June,” Val Brooks, president of the Cambridge Real Estate Board, said Wednesday in a news release.
For the first six months of 2011, 1,563 properties were sold in the Cambridge area, down 0.7 per cent from last year’s first-half total of 1,574 units.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Help! I Have a Variable Rate Mortgage...
Here is a great video on the rational and process of deciding whether to switch to a fixed rate mortgage when rates begin to go up. Also some tips on how to negotiate a better rate from your lender.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/lets-talk-investing/help-i-have-a-variable-rate-mortgage/article2060147/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/lets-talk-investing/help-i-have-a-variable-rate-mortgage/article2060147/
Friday, July 1, 2011
Grand River Transit Fares Rise Today
Bus Fares Rising
Canada Day also means higher bus fares for Grand River Transit users.
As of today, a bus ticket will climb 15-cents. For adults, that means a ticket will run you $1.95.
As of today, a bus ticket will climb 15-cents. For adults, that means a ticket will run you $1.95.
There is no change to the $2.50 cash fare.
There are other increases as well, including for the youth ticket, which is up 10-cents to $1.65.
The cost for most passes also climbed slightly.
Fares for Transit in Waterloo Region are still among the lowest in all of Ontario.
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