December 17, 2007
What is the GTA?
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is one of North America’s fastest-growing economic regions. Covering more than 7,000 square kilometers, the GTA consists of 25 municipalities and four regions with a total population of 5 million. With a work force of approximately 2.9 million people, more than 100,000 companies, and a gross domestic product of U.S $109 billion, the GTA is Canada’s undisputed business and manufacturing capital.
The Greater Toronto Area is known for its thriving business climate, lucrative markets, modern transportation, advanced telecommunications and skilled human resources. While the GTA rivals the world’s strongest economic regions, the 2004 KPMG Competitive Alternatives Report found that overall business costs in the GTA were lower than most of the major international cities reviewed in the study.
The GTA is home to an impressive number of post secondary educational institutions, including ten universities and colleges. Its safety, cleanliness and ethnic diversity, combined with racial and cultural harmony, set it apart from other large urban centres. The GTA is consistently ranked as one of the urban areas with the best quality of life in the world.
December 14, 2007
There Goes the Neighbourhood
Does the demolition of a grand old house spell the end of Russell Hill Road as we know it?
The well-heeled homeowners on Russell Hill Road, the ravine- hugging street near St. Clair and Avenue that Harry Rosen once called home, are getting their Burberry knickers in a knot about impending condoization. They’ve already suffered the humiliation of losing some of their street’s 19th-century mansions to infill townhouses, but at least those were single-family dwellings. Now a company calling itself Russell Hill Investment is demolishing 200 Russell Hill Road, a mammoth Tudor-style house built in 1910, to make way for a four- and five-storey condo with 22 units combined. Neighbours, who unsuccessfully tried to put a stop to the demolition, are anxious about what the condos will do to their street (not to mention their resale values). Here, a few of the most expensive—and storied—properties on the block. »
December 13, 2007
Finding your next home
Buyers never want to pay too much, and sellers don’t want to leave money on the table. So, what to do? In the words of real estate professionals, you “pull some comps.”
The only public source of information on Toronto area sales, that we know of, is on RealEstatePlus.ca.