The warmth and detail of the front continues around to the back offering a large ‘old time’ covered porch.  The tradition ends right about there – as you enter to find the utmost in modern open concept design and thoughtful function through out!  View More Pictures!

The ‘Great Room’ boasts a dramatic stone two sided gas fireplace and a fabulous open concept kitchen with oversize bar.  This is where the living really happens!

Spoil yourself rotten! The rear yard has every outdoor luxury one could hope for in the city!  The custom Gib-San pool with stone coping and walkways includes a fountain!  Days run into evenings with an outdoor ‘living room’ and kitchen with bar area!

A main foor home office means you might never have to leave…

Upstairs enjoy three large bedrooms – each with hardwood floors, walk in closets and modern ensuite baths. A full size laundry room is on the 2nd floor for your convenience.

The lower level is completely finished to include a guest or nanny room with bathroom and a large family room with walk out to the pool. Discover plenty of storage space through out!

Just steps to Subway and Yonge Street, and located in the Churchill PS Area – make this home perfect for families and/or professionals. 

Discover some of our other unique and special homes for sale at NorthYorkLiving.com

Even when the kids were small I never understood the benefits of Mother’s Day – it wasn’t until my kids got older with their own busy schedules that I discovered just how important the day is to me.  Today I get to spend time with my kids, my mom and the rest of my family – it doesn’t really matter what we are doing – just relaxing time together!

Whether you are a mom, have a  mom, are married to a mom or know a mom – today we tell these wonderful women just how important they are in our lives and how much we love them.

Check out Google’s ode to Mother’s Day at Google.com and have a great day!

121 Park Home Ave. – Well maintained split level home with family room and walk out – great starter just steps to Subway!

201 Elmhurst Ave. - Beautifully renovated ‘Cape Cod’ style home with bright basement suite – among many new homes steps to Subway!

24 Routliffe Lane - Gorgeous freehold townhome has master ‘retreat’ and custom built ins/finishes through out. Walk out to garden patio. Steps to Subway.

201 Ellerslie Ave. – Custom two storey 4+ bdrm has 10′ ceilings and is perfectly situated on tree-lined street steps to Yonge/Subway. Prime lot is 44 x 300!

91 Townsgate Blvd #1101 – Bright cheerful two bedroom condo with large balcony and parking. Easy starter or investment at $279k

179 Burnett Ave. NEW TODAY Solid 3+ bdrm bungalow with garage on premium 50′ south lot just 2 blocks to Yonge and among many new homes!

Time for Spring Cleaning!

Its a win/win opportunity!

Spring cleaning is here and if you’re like the rest of us, we suddenly find ourselves with loads of clothing, books and miscellaneous items that are all good – yet we don’t need them anymore!

Here are some great services that are happy to pick up your gentley used items and use them to either raise money or give directly to those in need.  A few that we have found helpful are;

• Oasis
• Diabetes
• Professional Organizers

We are always looking for more ways to assist our community. If you know of another charity who can help us with our ’stuff’ we’d love to have you share it with our readers!

The Toronto Real Estate Board reported an average sale price for 2011 of $465, 412 – which is right around where the Average price for February 2011 was.  Last year was a relatively stable  year for price increases.  Who was expecting the average price to climb about 10%  in less than 2 months and top the $500,000 mark for February 2012?

In the 416 area, the average price of a detached home is now $818,000 (up 13% from this time last year) while the average price of a detached home in the 905 area is $568,000. (up 11% from this time last year).  The number of sales has also increased – with a huge increase in the 905 areas.  Interestingly, the average price for a condo apartment in both the 416 and 905 areas has risen about 4%.

If you love trends and stats and things – enjoy this months Market Watch and Trend Reports here.

If these numbers confuse or bore you and you simply want to know what your own home is worth – or your options when buying a home, condo or investment, just give us a call or drop us a note (ora@realestatetoronto.com). 

We are always happy to meet to discuss your plans (no obligation or cost).  If you have some ideas about where you think this market might go please share your thoughts with us and our readers!  Thank you.

Market Incline

We are so focused on working with our buyers and sellers that we have’t had a moment to update our post so here is a quick note on what’s been going on in our immediate neighbourhood at Yonge & Sheppard.

In Willowdale West and Lansing Communities the average sales price has gone up in some cases by 10% in just 4 months! That’s right!  Since October 2011, the average sales price of sales between $600k – $900k has increased by 10%!  The median price has also risen by close to 10%!

If you had a market evaluation on your home last year – it’s time for an update – and we are happy to provide you with the information you might need to make a decision! 

What do you think our market will do this year and next year? Will you be buying or selling…or both?

Sales are strong and Multiple Offers are back!

Keep in mind that ‘multiple offers’ means just that; more than one offer on a property at the same time.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that all the homes are selling for tens of thousands of dollars over list. However, in a multiple offer situation, sellers often enjoy a position of strength that comes with having more than one buyer for their home.

Buyers may be entering this process with more caution that was seen last Spring.  They are less likely to remove a home inspection condition and while many homes are still selling for over the list price, home buyers are carefully comparing prices and value before they throw all their gold on the table.

Whether buying or selling a home or condo – this is all good news!

Sellers are realizing decent prices and Buyers are taking advantage of unbelievably low borrowing rates.

How do you feel about competing for the home of your dreams? Would you still make an offer on a property that already has an offer on it?  Would you prefer to shop for homes that you feel are over priced so that you can negotiate the price down a little? We’re curious about your thoughts as we move toward a Spring Market.

Your ideas and thoughts matter to us!

Happy New Year From Our Families to Yours!

The Mulholland Real Estate Team is excited and proud!

The 3rd annual ‘Fun Family Skate Day’ on Dec 31st 2011 attracted loads of generous neighbours and friends and collected over 300lbs of food for the North York Harvest Food Bank!

People enjoyed an afternoon of skating, music, face painting, free hot chocolate and lots of great prizes – some generously donated by our local business community!

Thank you everyone for coming out and making it such a great  New Year event.

BOB Owns His Home:
$310,000 Purchase Price
Investment $60,000
Mortgage $250,000 @ 6%
Total Cost of Home $480,000
In 25 years home is debt free
And valued at over $800,000
At thirty years the home is worth more and Bob is no longer paying

SUE Rents Her Home:
Monthly rent of $1500
(Not including rent increases)
Total cost of rent $450,000
In twenty five years Sue has nothing
In thirty years Sue continues to pay.
And still owns nothing.

For those of you who are still on the fence about owning a home – or moving up to a larger home, keep this in mind.  Your Real Estate investment is not about the purchase price of a home – it is about the COST of your home. 

There is another way to look at the buying vs renting argument, using the example above;
If Bob has a fixed rate mortgage at 6% (assuming it doesn’t change)  for twenty five years and his property now is still only  worth $310,000, over the life of his loan he would pay $480,000 in mortgage and interest payments – and he would still have an asset of $310,000.

By comparison, Sue over that same twenty five years, would have paid $450,000 in rent (assuming the landlord never raised her rent.)

On a basic level one might assume Sue paid less and has therefor saved money – but a closer look reveals that Sue has not built any financial wealth through her monthly payments and has nothing to show for her $450,000 investment while Bob still has a $330,000 asset.

Chances are that Bob’s home would have appreciated to more than $800,000, creating a positive gain of over $300,000.  Bob has also enjoyed the independence that comes with home ownership – the ability to leverage or borrow against his equity for other investment opportunities.  Finally, when Bob sells his home he will not pay any income tax on the sale.

  Who would you rather be in 25 years…Bob or Sue?

Happy Skaters at Last Years Party!

Over 40% of the people that use the Food Bank will do so for less than 6 months.

The North York Harvest Food Bank is the 2nd largest food bank in the Toronto area and serves our communities and those in needs so many different ways!  Read More!

You can help by making a donation on our secure partner website - and get a tax receipt!

Happy Prize Winner!

The Mulholland Ross Team have been proud supporters and sponsors for over 5 years – this year we invite you to help support the North York Harvest Food Bank. Join neighbours and friends at our 3rd Annual Family Skate Party on December 31st between 12:00 – 2:00pm.

Free hot chocoate, Music, Face Painting and More! Bring a non-perishable food donation for your chance to win some fantastic prizes.

Goulding Park Arena * 45 Goulding Ave * December 31 12:00 – 2:00pm