visiting open houses.  In a way you are interewing the agent who is presenting the open house and doing so in a relaxing, no pressure environment. Note how the REALTOR® welcomes you to the home, how they present the home and most important of all…how you connect with that person.  You will find that the REALTOR® you are drawn to will likely be drawn to you as well.  Like does attract like.  Whether the process of selling your home is quick or more drawn out you will want someone you can trust and feel comfortable with.  Visit with us here to see how we work and find your dream home here

March 20, 2012 00:03:00
Lesley Ciarula Taylor  Staff Reporter

Toronto barely scrapes into the top 50 of places to live in Canada but Jann Arden’s “middle of nowhere” makes it to Number 22.

Ottawa and Burlington outstrip all other Ontario places to rank Number 1 and Number 2 on the MoneySense list of 190 cities.

It’s Ottawa’s third year in a row as the top spot in the country.

“What does it have that other cities don’t?” MoneySense asked last year.

“In a word, consistency. It does not rank particularly high in any individual category but it comes in above average across the board.”

Toronto ranked 47th, between Thunder Bay and Aurora, which is a vast improvement over last year’s rank of 88, thanks to better marks for health care and job prospects.

Lack of affordable housing, doctors per 1,000 people and the jobless rate still all hammered Toronto’s score.

Oshawa, famously slagged by Arden when she was kicked off a VIA Rail train with her dog there, scored well for its low crime rate, weather, discretionary income and population growth.

Dead last on the list of Canada’s Best Places to Live 2012 is New Glasgow, N.S., two spots below Kawartha Lakes, Ont.

The worst-ranking place is the GTA is Brampton, once described by urban guru Jane Jacobs as one of Canada’s most successful communities.

MoneySense calculated its list by giving a city points in each category and then ranking those points with all other cities.

Housing, for example, was worth 15 points: half for average house prices and half for the time it took to buy a house.

Lower incomes and sales taxes ranked a city better, but overall they were only worth three points.

Oakville grabbed the top spot for the best weather in Canada, worth 18 points and based on amount of precipitation, wet days and days below 0 C. Nine of the top-10 weather spots in Canada were along Lake Ontario.

Northern Quebec had seven of the 10 worst places for weather.

MoneySense admits the list just crunches numbers and doesn’t factor in the “nearness of family, the friendliness of neighbours or even great sunsets.”

So Yellowknife scores second-best in the country for walking or biking to work, regardless of the risk of hypothermia, and Cape Breton, N.S., ranks best in Canada for affordable housing, although it’s near the worst for employment.

Wood Buffalo, Alta., beats out Oakville for the best household income in the country but its crime rate and culture ranking are significantly worse.

Markham places Number 2 for new cars, right behind Whitehorse. Ontario could claim nine of the top-10 spots for lowest crime rate, with Caledon at the very top and Milton, Burlington, Halton Hills, Oakville and Centre Wellington tied for third.

Need a doctor? Grand Falls-Windsor has Canada’s best ratio of doctors per 1,000 people and Brooks, Alta., has the worst.

Estevan, Sask.’s 1.6 per cent unemployment makes it the best place in Canada to find a job; Bay Roberts, Nfld., is the worst.

Toronto only cracks a top-10 list in any category when it comes to culture, ranking Number 6 between Montreal and Ottawa. Vancouver, North Vancouver and Victoria could claim the top three rankings

http://www.ryanshomes.ca/MLS-Listing-10764/Burlington-ON/Home-For-Sale/2124-Bellwood-AV.aspx.  see you there!

“With the Canadian economy set to expand at a moderate pace and mortgage rates expected to remain low, activity levels in 2012 in both new home construction and sales of existing homes will stay close to levels seen in 2011,” said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist for CMHC.

Housing starts will be in the range of 164,000 to 212,700 units in 2012, with a point forecast of 190,000 units. In 2013, housing starts will be in the range of 168,900 to 219,300 units, with a point forecast of 193,800 units.

Existing home sales will be in the range of 406,000 to 504,500 units in 2012, with a point forecast of 457,300 units. In 2013, MLS^®2 sales are expected to move up in the range of 417,600 to 517,400 units, with a point forecast of 468,200 units.

The average MLS^® price is forecast to be between $330,000 and $410,000 in 2012 and between $335,000 and $430,000 in 2013. CMHC’s point forecast for the average MLS^® price is $368,900 for 2012 and $379,000 for 2013. The moderate increases in the average MLS^® price are consistent with the balanced market conditions that occurred in 2011, and that are expected to continue in 2012 and 2013.

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at http://www.cmhc.ca/housingmarketinformation.

¹ The forecasts included in the Housing Market Outlook reflect information available as of January 18, 2012. Where applicable, forecast ranges are also presented in order to reflect financial and economic uncertainty.

² Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) is a registered trademark owned by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Information on this release:

Charles Sauriol, Media Relations
613-748-2799
csauriol@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

The buzz phrase often used to describe the current self-referential aspect of home decor is “personalized,” and the design media has loads of suggestions for products that will help you achieve it. But rather than searching for ephemeral elements to evoke individuality, why not let original art communicate who you are?

Not only does art reflect a private esthetic, but according to 19th-century English poet Henry Austin Dobson, it “alone endures,” enriching your life long after any fleeting enchantment with yellow metals, round pillows or the colour orange fades.If you’re new to buying original art, you may want to pencil in a trip to The Artist Project, an annual mixed-media juried art show that opens in Toronto next week.

The four-day show is a great way for both longtime art lovers and first-time buyers to discover emerging and established artists, according to show director Claire Taylor. But more importantly, she says, it brings together would-be buyers of every stripe with the artists themselves.

“It takes out the middle man,” says Taylor. “People can deal directly with the artist and make a real connection. That makes buying a more meaningful experience.”

The event kicks off with an opening night party that lets visitors view work, mingle with artists, sip on wine and nibble hours d’oeuvres. Tickets are $25 ($23 online), with a portion going to the Canadian Art Foundation (www.canadianart.ca/foundation).

Now in its fifth year, the show has seen its artist roster climb from 90 to over 200, with a mix of Canadian and international artists.

Starting prices hover around $100, but can go as high as $10,000. The bulk of the artwork lies between $500 and $2,000.

Taylor says additional features will add value for the approximately 12,000 visitors expected at the show. “Untapped,” for example, comprises works by 17 emerging artists, either current students, recent grads or self-taught. Visitors can vote for their favourite and the winner will be given a free booth in next year’s show. The “Installation Alley” exhibit will display large-scale sculpture, conceptual art and installations not typically seen by those who don’t haunt galleries or museums.

The involvement of Sony as a sponsor reflects the role technology now plays in fine art. For one exhibit, five photographers will use a new Sony camera that takes 12 shots a second to create work that will be on sale at the show. There will also be an “Artists-at-Work” video installation in which five artists document their in-studio practices and techniques.

An “Art Chat” series will be hosted by such experts as writer Joshua Knelman and Canadian Art editor Richard Rhodes.

Tickets for an “Art Outing Tour” ($20) include a glass of wine, cheese plate and a 45-minute tour with a docent to guide visitors through the show while discussing contemporary art trends, pointing out significant works and connecting with artists, who will share sources on inspiration and the creative process. There are also free 30-minute docent-led walks, which take visitors through the show, giving them the chance to engage with artists.

Diverse programming helps extend the reach of the event, says Taylor.

“We try to cater to a broad audience, from young people looking to buy their first pieces to seasoned collectors who come to see the new talent, to interior designers and curators,” she says.

But it’s her fervent hope that those who feel most intimated by original art will show up, even if it’s just to browse.

“Part of the process of getting comfortable about buying art is educating your eye, but a huge part of that is learning about yourself and finding out what you love and what you respond to,” she says.

Taylor adds that the trend in home decor toward the homemade and handcrafted will bode well for artists and sharpen their competitive edge against mass-produced art available in home decor retail chains.

“I think people want to experience something that feels more real, and they want to think that their choice — not the trend of the moment — is the defining factor in what goes on their walls. That’s so much more likely to happen when you deal directly with the people who are making original objects of art,” she says.

The Artist Project is at the Queen Elizabeth Building at Exhibition Place from March 1 to 4. Admission is $14 ($12 online) and $10 for seniors and students. For more information and ticket options, go to www.theartistprojecttoronto.com.

If all this has you hungering to learn more about art, sign up for the Twitter feed of Art Knowledge News (www.artknowledgenews.com), which posts frequent links to great works, or consider investing $40 for a two-year subscription to Canadian Art (www.canadianart.ca). It’s a great deal.

You can read Vicky Sanderson’s On the House blog at www.thestar.blogs.com/onthehouse. Contact Vicky Sanderson at vswriter@sympatico.ca and follow her on Twitter @vickysanderson.

You have decided to sell your home and as you survey your castle you think to yourself “It’s cozy, lived in…it’s a collection of memories”  At this point we must also start to think about the fact that “these are my memories and they don’t go along with the house”  The way we live in a house is not the way we sell a house and so begins the process of packing up those memories, which is universally known as ….decluttering!  It is probably the most important aspect of staging.  Staging is different than decorating in that you are taking away superfluous items and furniture to create space and depersonalize the home.  In this way you are preparing the home to appeal to the as yet un-known buyer.  Here’s a quick guide to get you started,

• Use an odd number of items – 3 being the ideal – and of different heights (high, medium and low) to create a pleasing vignette
• Let the light in
• Add greenery to each room
• Repurpose things and invent new uses for items
• Keep walls and floors neutral to create the most spacious feeling
• Paint all areas where needed
• Hang pictures such that the middle of the painting is about 5 feet from the floor
• Rearrange furniture and items to make the room feel bigger
• Pack away personal items BONUS… you have already started the packing process for the move to you own home.
• Your Accredited Staging Professional Realtors can help you prepare your home to show to perfection! Ann and David Ryan

~ hints by Barb Schwarz

http://www.ryanshomes.ca/MLS-Listing-10634/Burlington-ON/Home-For-Sale/343-Camelot-CT.aspx

Search our listings to find the right home for you!

 http://www.ryanshomes.ca/Burlington-Homes-For-Sale.aspx

The bank’s economists say the only real trouble spot is Vancouver, where there are plenty of vacant high-priced condos going begging.

The report suggests that alarms about Canada’s housing market by international observers, from the International Monetary Fund to The Economist magazine, are exaggerated or simplistic.

Even Toronto’s hot condo market — one of the subjects of many of the warnings — is more likely to cool rather than collapse, the economists say.

A comparison of house prices to household incomes shows an increase from a decade ago, but not an excessive one, the report points out.

Nor are most Canadians close to an American-style debt wall that preceded the subprime crash in 2007.

Nevertheless, the BMO economists say house values are somewhat pricey and expect sales, starts and prices to flatten out this year.

Here are some quick questions that will help you determine whether you may have a humidity problem in your home:

• Do your windows fog up when furnace kicks in?
• Do you notice wet stains on walls or ceiling?
• Does your house smell musty?
• Do your lips and skin become unusually chapped and dry when snow falls?
• Does touching certain items create static?
• Are you having problems with your electronic equipment?

If you answered yes to any of these please read further for ideas on how to fix a humidity problem

If your humidity is too high

• Open a window
• install exhaust fans or a heat recovery ventilator in bathrooms
• invest in a dehumidifier
• Call a contractor if you have signs of water in our basement or a leak on a ceiling

If your humidity is too low,

• Weatherproof – Caulk window trim, weatherstrip,cover windows with plastic sheeting
• buy a humidifier