BuzzBuzzHome says: File this under #HolyShitTax (Source: CBC News) Friction over Ontario’s contentious harmonized sales tax sparked a rancorous scene at Queen’s Park on Monday, forcing the Speaker to suspend two Progressive Conservative MPPs for the rest of the legislative session. The fracas began after Tory MPP Bill Murdoch called Premier Dalton McGuinty a liar for not holding provincewide public consultations on tax harmonization — just as his fellow opposition members Ted Chudleigh and Peter Shurman had done on Nov. … Read More

(Source: Calgary Herald) City council gave approval Monday to the 30-year plan to transform the Brentwood LRT area from parking lots and one-storey shopping plazas into condo buildings, office complexes and pedestrian-friendly streetscape. Developers of the Co-op supermarket and Brentwood Village Mall are already devising plans to construct highrises and mid-rises with retail on the main floor. Read Jason Markusoff’s full article “Calgary Council approves plan to anchor signature development around LRT station” in the Calgary Herald (November 30, 2009).

(Source: Orlando Sentinel) Condo prices have fallen more in Orlando during the past year than in any other metro area in the state and, most likely, the country, according to state and national Realtor reports. The median price for an existing unit in Orlando was $50,600 in the third quarter — a 56 percent drop from the same time a year ago, when the midpoint sales price was $114,000. Statewide, condo prices fell 34 percent during that time. Nationally, the … Read More

(Source: Wall Street Journal) With Dubai coming perilously close to defaulting on nearly $59 billion in debt, it is worth breaking down some of the issues behind the Arab city-state’s problems. It isn’t pretty. The government and its state-controlled companies, such as Dubai World, are drowning in debt, with assets such as cruise ships and golf courses that are worth a lot less than they cost to buy or build. Dubai didn’t just turn its own slice of desert into … Read More

(Source: Washington Post) Go ahead. Break the chains. Stop paying on your mortgage if you owe more than the house is worth. And most important: Don’t feel guilty about it. Don’t think you’re doing something morally wrong. That’s the incendiary core message of a new academic paper by Brent T. White, a University of Arizona law school professor, titled “Underwater and Not Walking Away: Shame, Fear and the Social Management of the Housing Crisis.” Read Kenneth R. Harney’s full article … Read More

(Source: Bloomberg) Canada’s economy grew for the first time in four quarters between July and September, signaling the country’s first recession since 1992 has ended. Gross domestic product expanded at a 0.4 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a 1 percent annualized gain, based on the median of 19 responses. The second- quarter decrease, initially reported at 3.4 percent, was revised to a 3.1 percent annualized drop. … Read More

(Source: Globe and Mail) The residential market is on fire, with October sales numbers setting a record monthly high and average sale prices expected to reach a new record by the end of the year as well. Commercial real estate in this country also seems to be humming along – with Toronto coming out of a six-quarter slide recently and key markets across the country showing signs of stability. But of course, the 2,000 or so attendees at the Real … Read More

BuzzBuzzHomeNovember 30, 2009 Toronto-Dominion Bank has about $19.5 billion in U.S. commercial real estate loans, the Globe and Mail reported, higher than some investors believe. The Globe and Mail cites the Hamilton Capital Partners research report. It was disclosed to investors that TD Bank it had about $12 billion in U.S. commercial real estate exposure, the Globe said. Difference appears to come from the way TD classifies the loans it makes on owner-occupied premises, reports the Globe. “Trying to bridge … Read More

(Source: Bloomberg) Individuals with more than $800,000 to invest plan to increase their property holdings because they foresee better long-term returns than from stocks and bonds, according to a Barclays Plc global survey. Twice as many people plan to raise their investment in commercial and residential property as intend to reduce it, the Barclays Wealth unit said in an e-mailed statement today. The richer the individual, the greater the proportion of wealth is placed in real estate, the survey found. … Read More

Sites can help sellers navigate confusing task while saving them thousands. Just don’t expect them to host your open house! (Source: Associated Press) Selling a home without a real estate agent can save thousands of dollars in commission fees, but it can also be a painstaking, confusing task. Foregoing an agent, however, is easier these days thanks to Web sites that help homeowners advertise their properties on the hottest real estate portals and even walk them through figuring out how … Read More