While skiers and winter outdoor enthusiasts may feel a sense of sadness as winter draws to an end, the thought of spring flowers brings joy to the hearts of most gardeners.
Even though there may still be snow on the ground, it’s not too early to begin planning your garden and even planting it – indoors. Indoor planting is especially beneficial for those of us living in northern climates ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on March 7, 2011
Just a few weeks ago - the week of July 7th to be exact - REALTORS® raised over $40,500, all of which will be given back to communities across Ontario to help provide better quality housing for people in need.
This year was the 5th Annual REALTORS® Care™ Foundation Motorcycle Ride for Charity, and I'm really proud that I was one of the many sponsors of Lynn Martin, the Executive ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on August 20, 2010
The real estate market continues to change and we've now entered a balanced market, which means that neither sellers nor buyers have the advantage. In other words, market conditions are fair on both sides.
You might wonder if I'm a little crazy in saying this, especially when reading that the number of homes sold in July in the Greater Toronto Area dropped by 34% compared to July 2009. ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on August 6, 2010
It's a sunny Monday morning on the first day of summer in June 2010 as I write this blog, and it's interesting to see how the Greater Toronto Area real estate market is changing. About six to eight weeks ago, REALTORS® like myself started to see a shift in the market once again. Strangely, newspapers and other media haven't really caught on yet and so the general public still thinks ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on June 21, 2010
Yesterday, the Bank of Canada announced the first rate increase to the daily rate it charges banks from 0.25% to 0.5%. Does this affect you?
That depends on whether you have a mortgage or a line of credit, and if so, what type. If you have a fixed rate mortgage, then no - it does not affect you, at least until your mortgage is up for renewal. If you have a variable rate mortgage ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on June 2, 2010
BEEEEP, BEEEEEP, BEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEEP! It might be annoying, especially when you've burned the toast for the 4th time this week, but smoke alarms save lives.
A few days ago in the city of Toronto, a father and his young daughter were both killed due to a house fire. And today on the news, I listened to the announcer introduce a representative from the Ontario Fire Marshal who proceeded ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on March 12, 2010
I've been working with a really nice family lately showing them a few homes for sale in the Brampton area (actually, just three!) and talking with them about the process of moving house. The reason they've been planning on selling - and downsizing - is to save a bit of money as the economy recovers, plus their kids will be teenagers within the next few years and we all know teenagers ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on January 26, 2010
Happy New Year, everyone!
It's January 6, 2010 as I write this blog, and it's very interesting to see how the market has changed over the last year, eh?
At this time a year ago, everyone had gone into hibernation, and adopted a "wait and see" attitude with regards to the economy and the housing market. One year later, and the market has changed drastically! Prices are going up ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on January 6, 2010
I was surfing www.youtube.com today, and thought it might be interesting to see if there were any Century 21 videos. Well, I found a whole lot of them - many of them hilarious! Some of them were from real estate sales representatives showing off their listings (a cool idea), others were from clients showing off the new home they bought with help from their Century 21 REALTOR, and then ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on November 15, 2009
If you haven't been paying attention to the news lately, you might have missed information about the Home Renovation Tax Credit. It's part of the stimulus program that the federal government has put into place for this year, as part of the effort to help the economy and shorten the recession. Essentially, it works by reducing your income taxes up to $1,350 for the 2009 tax year.
So, ...
Posted by Jim Datlen
on October 25, 2009