Not only will the CNE open its doors this Friday, but a bunch of other activities and events will be happening in and around our city. Check ’em out.

This incident makes me nervous! As an agent, I don’t want to have anyone accessing the property without my or my client’s consent. There are couple of ways this could happen and I’m going to explain what the current process to keeping our clients secure is and review where the leak could’ve happened.

Anytime an agent contacts us for an appointment for one of our listings, we verify that the information being provided is true. We have a database of all active agents in the Toronto Real Estate Board. In case of new agents, we collect their information and verify against the company name they are registered with. The lock box code is never released to the individual calling over the phone.

We proceed to calling our client to confirm that the date and time is ok to show the property. If the client confirms, we then call the brokerage office where the agent is employed to confirm that their employment exists and release the lock box to the brokerage and keep track of who the lock box was released to. The cooperating brokerage would then release the lockbox to their agent hence keeping a tight control on who can access the information.

This is the process in a nutshell. Now let’s review what could be the reason a breach took place.

• The stranger was an agent that has seen the property before and was coming back to look at it again without an appointment
• The stranger was a client of a real estate agent that had seen the property and wanted to go back to look at it again. The real estate agent released the lock box code to the stranger to go check it out them self.
• The stranger was an employee of the brokerages in question and obtained the information

In my experience, I have seen lock boxes released by vendors to trade workers which could also be a reason for the leak. Another possible breach could be the client who saw the house with a realtor noticed the code and came back for another look.

Whichever the case might be from above, what happened shouldn’t have happened. We value our client’s security and keep a very tight control on the information. We never release lock box codes to anyone over the phone unless they are verified to be who they say they are and don’t release lock box codes to the vendor unless they specifically ask for it.

If you’re thinking about selling your home and will be placing a lockbox on your front door, please make sure you have a discussion with your REALTOR to confirm what their office policy is relating to releasing lock box codes.

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Sail-In Cinema began last year with a 40 x 20 foot double-sided screen positioned off Sugar Beach. Those interested in tuning in can pull up in a boat or catch the movie from the shore. Last year, 2,000 people attended to watch Finding Nemo, Jaws, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

This year, the movie line-up includes Creature from the Black Lagoon, Hook, along with the The Poseidon Adventure. Screenings begin just after sunset (8:45pm) and you can get free tickets on the cinema’s website.

FULL SCHEDULE:

August 16: The Poseidon Adventure (8:45 PM)
August 17: Creature from the Black Lagoon (8:45 PM)
August 18: Hook (8:45 PM)

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The development will be a 25-story mixed-use apartment and retail building on Rector Street. It will house 169 apartments and 7,650 square feet of retail space. It will cost approximately $64 million to build.

The project is also approved for up to $20.6 million in tax credits over the next 10 years, and will be built right behind the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

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Although we won’t be experiencing a U.S. style crisis, economists are additionally predicting the market to remain relatively stagnate for the years to come.

“Historically, long cycles of rising home prices have been followed by extended periods of persistent softness, allowing affordability to be gradually restored and generating renewed pent-up demand. The downturns that followed Canada’s major housing booms of the 1970s and 1980s – defined by having flat or negative real price growth – lasted eight and nine years, respectively.” said the new report.

It is already becoming evident that the hot real estate market has been slowing down this quarter, notably in Toronto’s condo market.

[Source]

Click on the links below to download the commentaries in pdf format.

JULY

Canadian Consumer Price Index
Bank of Canada Overnight Rate Announcement
Canadian Labour Force Survey

JUNE

Canadian Consumer Price Index
Canadian Labour Force Survey

MAY

Canadian Consumer Price Index
Canadian Labour Force Survey