Thoughts & Happenings

According to a recent Bank of Montreal report, first time home buyers in Toronto are planning to spend at least $400,000 on a new home this year; compared with $300,000 last year, that’s quite a jump!

The report looked at homebuyers buying in the Big Three markets of Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary. Buyers looking for a home in the GTA had the second highest budget; buyers in Montreal expect to spend $237,000 on their first home; $363,000 in Calgary and $510,000 in Vancouver.

Scotiabank analysts say that the real estate construction boom is over, but is it? With an aging housing market, it’s often a better move to just build a new home instead.

Either way, new housing starts (requests for permits for new construction) are expected to level off over the next decade - while projects that started in the last four years through now are expected to keep the construction market busy through the end of 2016.

Consumer confidence in the real estate market across the country reached a 3 year high this week, following a tide of optimism about the economy and the real estate market.

A recent Bloomberg Nanos Confidence Index report showed that last week consumer confidence hit 60, a number that surpasses the highest level of 59 back in March ’11.

Ever wonder what the world's most expensive home or car is? Well look no further, cause the answer is just a click away!

Imagine the worst winter we’ve had in decades, the best prices we’ve seen for real estate in the same amount of time, and a booming market of Baby Boomers and family-minded Millennials trying to escape the city for cute little communities like Oakville…

If you’ve been looking for a home in the GTA, you’ve probably had some trouble finding a good one: you’re not alone. Today the shortage of listed homes across the Greater Toronto Area has reached new heights, with the average home price rising almost twice the national average.

HomeGain surveyed nearly 500 real estate professionals nationwide and configured a list of the top 10 do it yourself home improvements that cost under $5,000 and benefit sellers most when they sell their homes. 

What finished on top? Find out here!

There’s nothing like a brand new home - but when you can’t afford one, or when you don’t even have a home to call your own, that’s where Habitat for Humanity steps in. They help build homes right here in Canada, abroad and even offer low-cost home furnishings and building materials in the Oakville-Halton area.

The future of healthcare is coming to Oakville in 2015 - in the form of a $2.7 billion hospital that will serve the areas of Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Georgetown. It’s set to open its doors in December of next year over on Dundas street; it’ll feature 320 beds, with an estimated 600+ beds by 2025!

This year the CBC estimated that millions of people powered down for “Earth Hour”, and the Town of Oakville joined in. Earth Hour is a yearly event where people around the world flick off their lights (and power down their devices) and join together to see how much just an hour makes.