January is Alzheimer’s month

I suppose it is fitting that we begin the year paying particular attention to our most valued asset – our mind.  Almost everyone I have met has been painfully introduced to the cruel illness that is Alzheimers, either through an immediate member of their family, or those of a  friend or associate.  We are all at risk of acquiring this disease, but according to Researchers: (Lancet Neurology: July 19, 2011, Early Online Publication) there are 7 risk factors associated with Alzheimers that we need to pay particular attention to in our conscious quest to avoid this disease.

1) Low education.

2) Smoking

3) Physical Inactivity

4) Depression

5) High Blood Pressure

6) Diabetes

7) Obesity

#2-#7 we know are bad habits, or conditions to have.  For the most part they are habits and conditions well within our ability to control and influence.

#1, low education…..well not everyone has had the opportunity to acquire higher education, but the main thrust of this risk factor is that it is important to engage your mind in problem solving activities.  That is why social interaction, reading, puzzle solving, game playing (such as Bridge) are very important, and that is also why brain numbing activities which are very passive (like watching TV – they don’t call it the “idiot box” for nothing!) are not good activities to occupy the majority of your time.

So keep fit people. Watch those calories – get off the couch and MOVE – join some clubs and have fun.

Happy 2010!

Having Fun???

Must be having fun because time sure is flying by.  Professionally, it was a wonderful year. I was so honoured to work with a number of terrific people helping them find their new home and/or selling their existing home.  And it is always very rewarding to work with 1st time home buyers, but by the end of the year I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would be before homes were priced too high for these young people. Thankfully, mortgage rates continue to be at all time lows and this allows many people to get their foot in the door of home ownership.
Personally, it was again a terrific year. A healthy and beautiful grandson born in April, 2011. Now my husband and I have 2 wonderful grandsons. Really, what more could anyone ask for!
York Region entered 2012 still in the midst of a transit strike. An article in the Economist and Sun written by the Labour Council of Toronto and York Region believes this strike is “so hard to resolve for one basic reason – the presence of private operators answerable only to CEO’S” believing “their profit margin comes first – ahead of the interests of the people of York Region.”
More and more that word “profit” seems to be a dirty word.
What’s wrong with answering to CEO’s. Checks and balances prevent wasteful expenitures and require accountability. I can’t agree with the Labour Council. In my mind, wherever a private business can operate things instead of a government, then I’m all for it.  People and companies making money is what makes this world go ’round.  I think we should be very mindful of what happened to that beautiful country of Greece.  Not enough checks and balances there – wouldn’t you say.
Musings for January 2012……

REMINDER-Deadlines for Eligibility of Home Energy Retrofit Grants

This is just a reminder regarding the federal and provincial government grants to homeowners who undertake renovations that improve the energy efficiency of their homes. These programs are coming to a close as of March 31, 2011.

But first!!! before undertaking any renovations, homeowners must first have an energy audit of their home performed by a licensed service organization. The evaluation report provides customized recommendations for renovations to improve the energy efficiency of the home.  Once the renovations have been completed, a second audit must be undertaken with 18 months of the first one to determine the change in the home’s energy efficiency. 

To be eligible for federal grants, homeowners must have booked a pre-retrofit audit BEFORE March 31, 2010 and have the post-retrofit audit completed by March 31, 2011 or within 18 months of the date of the pre-retrofit evaluation (whichever comes first)  Homeowners who booked a pre-retrofit audit AFTER March 31, 2010 can only access grants from the provincial government, but must also complete their post-retrofit audit completed by March 31, 2011.

For more information of this, please visit:

http://www.mel.gov.on.ca/en/energy/conservation/ohesp2/

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/grants.cfm?attr=0

Markham/Stouffville Stats Dec.6th-12th, 2010

I’m back with some more statistics for this past week regarding the new listings and sold properties for the week inclusive of December 6th to the 12th.

District N11 (Markham/Unionville) we had 21 new listings come onto the market. In this same time frame there were 11 sales reported.
There were also 6 more sales reported that would have been in the previous weeks stats, bringing the sales (Nov. 29 to Dec. 5th) from 19 sales to an adjusted 24.

In District N12 (Whitchurch/Stouffville), we had again, 7 new listings and 5 sales reported. There were also 3 more sales reported from the previous week (Nov.29th to Dec.5th) adjusting sales from 7 to 10.

The market appears to be fairly robust for this time of year, although the sales are showing a decline heading into the weeks before Chrismas.

This will be my final Statistics post for this year – and I’ll be back in the new year to inform you about the market activity over the Christmas holidays.

Merry Christmas everyone! And all the best to you and yours in the coming 2011. I think we’re going to have another terrific year in real estate!

Listing/Sales Stats 11/29 – 12/5/2010

Hi there – back again with the sales and listing statistics for Markham/Unionville (N11) and Stouffville (N12) for the past week.

In N11 there has been 20 new listings come onto the market
In N12 there has been 7 new listings.

In N11 there were 19 Sales reported within this time frame – and another 10 sales reported for the week previous (Nov.22-28) This now brings the sales for the week of Nov. 22-28th up from 14 (as reported in my last week blog) to 24. Pretty healthy sales figures for this time of year.
In N12 there were 7 Sales reported within this time frame – and another 3 for the week previous bringing the previous week’s sales up from 3 to 6.

BOTH listings and sales activities are up in Stouffville (N12) this past week
BOTH listings and sales activities are down (very slightly) in N11 this past week

That’s the “lay of the land” in this portion of York Region.

Markham/Stouffville STATS Nov.22-28/10

Back again with some Stats from Toronto Real Estate Board for the Markham Unionville area (N11) and Stouffville (N12) for the week of November 22nd to 28th, 2010

NEW Listings in N11 for the week: 21
SOLD listings reported same time frame: 14
Days on Market: Average 15

NEW Listings in N12 for the week: 4
SOLD listings reported same time frame: 3
Days on Market: Average 26

Now a word of caution: statistics are wonderful things, but before you bet your $$ on the outcome, keep in mind that previously unreported stats do keep coming in, so they can change:
N11 has 5 more SALES reported this week (that belong in, but were not reported from previous week) That changes the total sales in N11 from Nov 15th-21st to 31 instead of 26.
N12 has 4 more SALES reported this week (that belong in, but were not reported from previous week) That changes the total sales in N12 from Nov. 15th-21st to 9 instead of 5

Market Stats

Here’s a little bit of information on the Stats from TREB for N11 (Markham/Unionville). When the newspapers report sales, activities, trends, etc. from the Toronto Real Estate Board, they take into consideration all districts across the Board. These Stats I am showing you are for Markham/Unionville (N11) and Whitchurch/Stouffville (N12)

OK, so in N11 from November 15th to November 21st, the number of new listings which came on the market in those 7 days is 23.
The number of sales reported in the same time frame is 26
The Days on the Market for these 26 homes that sold, are all over the map. They range from 168 days down to 3.

Now, in N12 from the same time period, the number of new listings which came on the market in those 7 days were 7
The number of sales reported in the same time frame is 5
The average days on the market is 19

As you can see the balance between new listings and sales is pretty well balanced with N11 having slightly more sales. I will keep track of this trend because if it continues, then that means prices will be rising.