Canada’s rich fuelling rebound in luxury housing

As the CEO of a prominent real estate title insurance company, Thomas Grifferty has seen his share of impressive properties. But when he first saw plans for the Edgemere waterfront condominium project in the Oakville Real Estate market, he was sold. “It didn't take us long to make a decision to live here,” said Grifferty, the head of First Canadian Title, the largest title insurance company in Canada. “This is a really unique property by the lake.” Entrepreneurs such as Grifferty are one reason why the Canadian luxury home market has seen a resurgence this year as it comes out of the 2009 recession, when credit markets froze. A burgeoning Canadian millionaires club has caused demand to rebound for luxury goods ranging from Hermes handbags to real estate. Read more...

Jack’s ‘miracle’ lemonade stand returns

Pennies spent at a child’s lemonade stand can go a long way — not just for eight-year-old Jack Yeilding, but lots of other children who need miracles. Saturday, May 28 will be the fifth edition of Jack’s Lemonade Stand. The fundraiser that began as a simple driveway lemonade stand run by Jack, an Oakville boy with intractable epilepsy, has raised more than $225,000 for Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. Even more amazing is the epilepsy that threatened Jack’s life was eliminated less than two years ago by brain surgery at the hospital. This year’s event promises to be as much fun as its predecessors with a special guest this year being a tiger. The fundraiser, in support of the Hospital for Sick Children, will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pine Glen Park on Third Line — rain or shine. Originally hosted at Jack’s home, the event has now moved to the park to accommodate all it has to offer. Read more...

Tim Hortons Camp Day is June 1st

Wednesday, June 1 is Tim Hortons Camp Day! Camp Day is the one day each year when every penny from coffee sales at Tim Hortons Restaurants is donated to the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation. On Camp Day, when guests buy a coffee and participate in various fundraising activities, they will help send more than 14,000 kids on the camping adventure of a lifetime. Campers aged nine to 12 years attend a 10-day summer camp session or a seven-day winter camp session, at one of the Foundation’s six camps in Canada and the United States. Children are selected by Tim Hortons Restaurant Owners who work closely with local youth organizations and schools to identify kids who would most benefit from an experience at camp. Read more...

Oakville Real Estate – CMHC Predicts Return to Stability

CMHC predicts that the housing market will stabilize in 2011, and that housing starts are expected to keep reflective of ‘demographic fundamentals’ through 2011-2012. “Modest economic growth, in conjunction with relatively low mortgage rates, will continue to support demand for new homes in 2011 and 2012. Nonetheless, we are expecting new and existing housing markets to fall in line with demographic fundamentals, as changes to mortgage rules take hold,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist for CMHC. Housing starts are forecast to be in the area of 166,600 to 192,200 units in 2011, with a point forecast of 179,500 units. In 2012, housing starts are expected to be in the range of 163,200 to 207,500 units, with a point forecast of 185,300 units. Housing Starts in the Oakville Real Estate area are expected to remain stable. Read more...

Oakville Real Estate and GTA Market Watch

The tight market has resulted in strong price growth in April. Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,041 existing home sales through the TorontoMLS® system in April 2011. This result was down 17 per cent compared April 2010 when sales spiked to a new record of 10,898. While off last year's record result, April 2011 sales were in line with the average April sales level reported over the previous five years. Oakville Real Estate agents reported 319 Oakville homes sold in April, which was down from the 392 reported in April of 2010. The decline is attributed to the lack of suitable Oakville Homes for sale to meet the demand in the current market. Read more...

Oakville Real Estate Market Watch

The tight supply of Oakville homes for sale last month helped lead to a stronger price increase than was expected in the Oakville Real estate market for the month of April. As the number of new listings dropped during the month of April, so too did resale housing sales, according to figures released by the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board this week. New listings in the Milton and Oakville Real Estate areas declined from 1,764 in April 2010 to 1,558 last month, a drop of 11.6 percent year over year. Read more...

Oakville Public Library available Online

If you can’t visit your local library in person, the Oakville Public Library is suggesting that you visit online. Many residents living in the Oakville Real Estate region are not aware of what the Oakville Public Library has to offer. The Oakville Public Library (OPL) is always available to you — on the Internet. In recent years, OPL has developed a detailed, user-friendly virtual branch, which offers a variety of services to the community without the concerns of line-ups or hours of operation. It’s as easy as creating a ‘My OPL’ account on the library’s website, where you can do anything from track your checked out items, place a hold, or renew items at any hour or pay fines. Read more...

Bank of Canada Maintains Overnight Rate at 1%

OTTAWA, March 1 /CNW/ - The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent. The global economic recovery is proceeding broadly in line with the Bank's projection in its January Monetary Policy Report (MPR), although risks remain elevated. U.S. activity is solidifying and remains supported by stimulative fiscal and monetary policies. Ongoing challenges associated with sovereign and bank balance sheets will limit the pace of the European recovery and are a significant source of uncertainty to the global outlook. Robust demand from emerging-market economies is driving the underlying strength in commodity prices, which could be further reinforced temporarily by supply shocks arising from recent geopolitical events. Read more...

Oakville Real Estate - CH says now is the time to destroy Giant Hogweed

Conservation Halton is advising that if residents have giant hogweed on their property now may be the time to destroy it. Giant Hogweed is a noxious perennial plant that has been spotted growing in the Oakville Real Estate area mainly along Sixteen Mile Creek and in some of the town’s parks and natural areas. During the summer the invasive plant reaches heights of 2.5 to 4 metres, with leaves up to 1 metre in breadth. It has a thick, 5 to 10 cm hollow stem and large umbrella-shaped flowers that are white in colour and can be more than 30 cm in diameter. Read more...

Oakville Real Estate – Centennial Square in for a Major Makeover?

Downtown Oakville’s Centennial Square could be in for a major makeover. A group of about 10 residents have been working together over several years to try to get some dialogue going in Oakville about possible upgrades to the location, which currently houses the Oakville Centre for Performing Arts, Central Library branch, an art gallery and other public spaces. Now, Mayor Rob Burton is on board and wants the residents of the Oakville Real Estate area to decide if such a makeover should take place. “We’ve got to make sure (downtown) stays as good as it gets in North America,” said one of the group members, Don Pangman. “It’s spectacular downtown. We’ve got heritage. It’s got a lovely setting and we’ve got to make sure it stays vibrant all the time.” Read more...