Check out their full blog-posting below from Google LatLong:

At Google one of our key philosophies is to take risks and to experiment. To that end, in July 2009 we announced the ability to find property for sale or rent directly on Google Maps. This is one of the “search options” next to the search box on Google Maps, and is currently available in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Japan.

In part due to low usage, the proliferation of excellent property-search tools on real estate websites, and the infrastructure challenge posed by the impending retirement of the Google Base API (used by listing providers to submit listings), we’ve decided to discontinue the real estate feature within Google Maps on February 10, 2011.

We’ve learned a lot and been excited to see real estate companies use Google Maps in innovative ways to help people find places to live, such as Coldwell Banker’s use of Google Maps and YouTube, or Realtor.com’s Android app that lets you draw a shape on a map to find all properties you’re interested in.

Yet we recognize that there might be better, more effective ways to help people find local real estate information than the current feature makes possible. We’ll continue to explore this area, but in the meantime, Google offers other options to home-seekers: you can still access other information in Maps such as local businesses, directions and transit times, as well as aerial and Street View imagery to explore where you might want to move, and also use Google search results to find helpful real estate information and websites.

Real estate companies can also continue to use tools from Google to help connect with buyers and renters who use the Internet to research properties. For example, companies can use the Google Maps API to embed customized maps that are useful to potential clients right on their own web pages. Our Google for real estate professionals site contains various methods for generating leads and improving real estate business operations.

So if you are looking to Buy/ Sell a home in Scarborough, Pickering or Ajax, Call us. We have the local knowledge and the expertise to help you get, what you want in the time that you want. Isn’t that great?

Call us today 416-286-3993

Water is a vital resource necessary for our survival. However this precious resource is depleting at an alarming rate in the world. We are blessed to have an abundance of fresh water available to us in Canada.
However if we don’t adopt immediate measures to conserve it then we too will be like the rest of the world. We have included simple tips that can be incorporated into our daily lives. These small measures adopted voluntarily will have huge impact on water conservation.

• When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.
• Some refrigerators, air conditioners and ice-makers are cooled with wasted flows of water. Consider upgrading with air-cooled appliances for significant water savings.
• Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn is watered and not the house, sidewalk, or street.
• Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
• Choose shrubs and groundcovers instead of turf for hard-to-water areas such as steep slopes and isolated strips.
• Install covers on pools and spas and check for leaks around your pumps.
• Use the garbage disposal sparingly. Compost vegetable food waste instead and save gallons every time.
• Plant in the fall when conditions are cooler and rainfall is more plentiful.
• For cold drinks keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.

As Home owners, lets do our bit.

Pre- Pack Early.
Now that you have decided to List your home here are some helpful tips that can assist you in getting your home sold for the most amount of money in the shortest possible time. Get a head start on your move by pre-packing. Start putting things that you do not need immediately in boxes and store them away. This will create more space in the house and cause your home to appear bigger.

• Remove all personal and family photos
• Remove all memorabilia
• Pre-pack books and music that do not appeal to a wide range of buyers
• Pre-pack your collections
• Do you have belongings that could be potentially disagreeable to buyers?
• Remove and pre-pack any items that could be potentially offensive or disagreeable
• Store away and organize children’s toys, games and books

This will allow the buyers to focus purely on the house.

So if you are thinking of putting your house on the market, call me for a FREE consultation.

For more such helpful TIPs on how you can $ave $$$$  Sign up for our FREE Newsletter.

• Replace paper napkins with cloth napkins
• Replace paper towels with a special set of cloth towels/napkins (or cut up old t-shirts for great towels) – store the used ones in a small container in your kitchen and just wash and reuse
• Purchase bleach-free, toilet paper that is made from the highest post-consumer waste content you can find (80% minimum)
• If you print documents, print on once-used paper and/or bleach-free, recycled paper with the highest post-consumer waste content available (or hemp/alternative-source paper, if you can afford it)
• Reuse envelopes, wrapping paper, the front of gift cards (as postcards) and other paper materials you receive wherever possible
• Read books, magazines, and newspapers from your local library
• Create and use note pads from once-used paper
• Leave messages for family members/roommates on a reusable message board
• Make your own cards/letters from once-used products or handmade paper

To get more such Eco Friendly tips, Sign up for our FREE Newsletter.

Sales Strong in November

December 3, 2010 — Greater Toronto REALTORS reported 6,510 existing home sales in November – down 13 per cent from 7,446 sales in November 2009. New listings were also down 13 per cent annually to 8,642.

On a month-over-month basis, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales increased for the fourth straight month to 88,100. This rate was substantially higher than the July low of 67,900.

“The GTA resale market has tightened since the summer. Healthy market conditions continued to support growth in the average selling price,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Bill Johnston.

“Sales through the first 11 months of the year were down only marginally compared to the same period in 2009. We remain on track for one of the best years on record under the current TREB market area,” continued Johnston.

The average selling price for November transactions was $438,030 – up five per cent compared to November 2009.

“The average selling price in the GTA is affordable. A household earning the average income can comfortably cover the mortgage payments on an average priced home. Expect the average selling price to grow at a moderate pace over the next year,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

Median Price
In November, the median price was $366,000, from the $353,800 recorded during November of 2009.

Given serious escalation in detached housing values, condominium apartments and towns have now emerged as the first step to homeownership; say Jay and Molly Banerjei of Re/Max Rouge River Realty Ltd.

Affordability has fuelled buying activity across the board, according to the 2010 RE/MAX Condominium Report, highlighting trends and developments in eight Ontario markets and one in Nova Scotia. Condominiums now represent one in every three homes sold in the Greater Toronto Area; close to one in every four homes sold in Ottawa and Hamilton-Burlington; and almost one in every five homes sold in London, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Collingwood.  The trend has translated into a solid upswing in unit sales activity, with 78 per cent of markets posting an increase in year-to-date sales (January – September 2010 vs. 2009)—with percentage gains outperforming overall residential sales in most markets examined. 

As one of few affordable housing options available to first-time buyers, the concept is poised for dramatic growth in years to come.  The lifestyle has also gained a foothold with younger, hipper audiences, as the definition of homeownership evolves with the changing demographic.  Dreams of the small home with a white picket fence are being replaced by the funky loft apartment in close proximity to shops, restaurants, and entertainment.

Other factors that support an escalation in condominium sales include an expanding population base, especially in areas like Barrie which saw a 21 per cent increase in the 2006 census.  Immigration and in-migration will also play a role, with at least half of new immigrants settling in Ontario—and more specifically, the Golden Horseshoe.  Urban renewal and intensification also add to the mix, drawing younger purchasers to the downtown core of major urban centers.

While the greatest activity continues to occur in the lower price points—under $200,000 in areas like Ottawa, Barrie, and London and under $300,000 in Toronto and Collingwood—luxury product is also attracting more affluent empty-nesters and retirees to the maintenance-free lifestyle.  Condominium sales in the GTA over the $1,000,000 price point have seen a 49 per cent increase year-over-year, while condos priced in excess of $450,000 in Ottawa have seen sales jump 72 per cent compared to the same period in 2009. 

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RE/MAX Condominium Report 2010…..2

Investors are also an active part of the equation, spurring demand for entry-level resale product in college and university towns like London, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Barrie—in the hopes of cashing in on student housing.  New construction in major centres has also experienced an increase in investment activity—with the vast majority of units in Toronto’s downtown core purchased by Asian and Middle Eastern investors as a long-term hold.

Unlike 1989, when a flood of new condominium listings wreaked havoc on the market, these purchasers are in for the long haul.  Leverage is not a factor, with most paying cash for their units.  If they can’t sell their apartments, they’re more than prepared to rent them out.

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