August Sales in the GTA Boost Ontario Home Sales

Nationally, Canadian existing-home sales increased 18.5 per cent in August compared with the same time last year, according to figures released yesterday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Existing home sales in the GTA rose 27 percent in August helping to boost Ontario sales. "Record-low borrowing costs combined with the growing realization that the economic storm is passing have fuelled the remarkable turnaround." says BMO Capital Markets economist, Doug Porter.

Porter also remarks that Canada's housing market has "fully escaped the clutches of a potentially lengthy, harsh downturn."

Read Tony Wong's full article "August sales heat up our housing market" in the Toronto Star (Sept. 16, 2009)

Early Augst Home Sales Suprise Experts

Toronto housing market experts didn't expect the resale market to return so quickly when they had previously forecasted a dramatic slowdown for this year. "Its caught a lot of people by surprise," said Shaun Hildebrand, senior market analyst for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

In the first two weeks of August, realtors reported 3,843 sales, enough to put the year-to-date figure at 54,303 sales, up slightly from the 54,138 sales recorded in 2008.

The Toronto market started showing positive signs in May then really started to blast off in June and July with continuing upward trends in August.

Read Tony Wong's full article "GTA home sales exceed 2008 place" in the Toronto Star (August 19, 2009)

New Condo Sales in Toronto Hit 2,963 Units In the Spring

Sales of new condominiums in Toronto surged in the spring totally 2,963 sold units from April to June up 223 percent from 917 units sold from January to March of this year.

Consumer confidence, low interest rates and first-time home buyers have helped drive the spring market.

"This is certainly better than most people had expected," said Ben Myers, executive vice-president of Urbanation. He said July figures for new condo sales are also expected to be positive, noting "sales seems to be going well."

Read Tony Wong's full article "Sales of New Condos Surge in the Spring" in the Toronto Star (Aug 5, 2009)

Opportunity for Retailers to Own Coveted Space on Yonge St.

Business owners who are interested in owning a piece of the last prime retail space available on Yonge St. are welcomed to attend a Special Preview of The Retail Shops at Aura Condominiums, located at the subway level of the building.

Own a coveted retail space or food court unit in downtown Toronto's most anticipated condominium AURA, located at the busy intersection of Yonge St. and Gerrard St.

Retailers at Aura will benefit from the direct underground access to the College Park subway station and future connection to the PATH network, not to mention the 2000 residents who will be living at AURA.

Take advantage of this unique opportunity!

RSVP by email or phone by Aug 6th.
Open House: Sat. Aug 8th and Sun. Aug 9th from 12 noon - 6pm
Location: AURA Presentation Centre 717 Bay St. (ground floor)
Tel: 416.962.8688 or Email: admin@collegeparkcondos.com

Visit http://www.retailataura.com/ for more information

Refreshments will be served. Validated parking is available.

Canderel Stoneridge's Own Riz Dhanji is The Master Condo Marketer

The aura of sucess surrounds Marketing pro, Riz Dhanji - the man who single handedly has redifined the way condominiums are marketed in Toronto, Canada.

Dhanji is vice-president of Sales and Marketing for developer Canderel Stoneridge Equity Group. Thanks to Dhanji's power of persuasion, many people have bought downtown condos. Dhanji has won two prestigious BILD (Building, Industry and Land Development) marketing awards for Marketer of the Year.

His 'out of the box' marketing techniques has led to several successful condominium projects around the city but AURA is by far Dhanji's biggest project. With over 900 units and more than a million square feet of residential space, it's like selling two towers, he says.

His carefully crafted strategies for AURA resulted in a huge lineup prior to the day the sales office opened. AURA has been the the fastest selling project in the city's history.

Read Gale Beeby's full article "Beyond the Bricks - Riz Dhanji: The Master Marketer" in the Toronto Star (July 25, 2009)

Photo credit: Tim Fraser for the Toronto Star