The Burlington Santa Claus Parade is Coming to Town! Sunday, December 6th, 2009With a nip in the air and a steady stream of Christmas related commercials on television, I know that time is drawing near again. Time for the sights and sounds of lively floats and marching bands while people sit bundled up on lawn chairs along the roadsides. It's Christmas parade time once more!The Burlington Santa Claus Parade will host 65 entries this year and will begin at 2pm Sunday, December 6th. Gather your thermos of hot chocolate and pack some snacks for the kids. Make sure everyone is sporting a colourful scarf and wooly hat or hood and packing an old car blanket or two won't hurt in the least.The parade begins at Burlington Mall on Guelph Line and will continue down Guelph line to New Street. At ... 11/23/2009

Real Fur Coat   Jay Walker Stalker Neck & Neck Family Portrait Small Minded The Birds Keeping Watch A Shore Thing Here's Looking At You Kid Candy Floss Jenny Kotulak Photos Burlington Bay, Hamilton Harbour, Grindstone Creek 09/09/2009

    sold firm !!  call carl for details   MlS  H 3020377 $ 219,900.00     3 BEDROOMS AND TWO BATHROOMS Unit 3 , 3000 Palmer drive  THIS TOWNHOUSE IS LOCATED IN BARRINGTON SQUARE AND IS CLOSE TO SHOPPING AND BUS ROUTES. WELL MANAGED COMPLEX WITH OUTDOOR SWIMMING POOL AS A FEATURED AMENITY . THE UNIT IS VACANT AND READY TO MOVE IN WITH UPDATED KITCHEN AND BATH. APPROXIMATELY 1250 SQUARE FEET OF PURE LIVING ENJOYMENT. LOCATED IN A COMPLEX THAT IS KNOWN FOR A LOW TURNOVER RATE. WWW.CARLSTARS.COM   08/07/2009

5342 Cachet Crescent, Burlington, Ontario, L7L 7N6 - $489,900 One of a Kind Family Home on Quiet Crescent in the Orchard-North East Burlington with Fully Finished 1 Bedroom Apartment in Walkout Basement,Upgrades include: Hardwood Floors,Oak Stairs,High Ceilings, Upgraded Maple Kitchen with High Cabinetry, Island & walkout to Huge 2nd level Deck, Family Room with Vault Ceilings, Huge Windows & Fireplace, Main Floor Laundry, Interior Access to Double Garage, Spacious Bedrooms, Master with 5 piece Ensuite- His & Hers Vanity- Soaker Tub- Separate Shower and Walkin Closet, Stunning Sun Filled Suite in Lower Level with Full Kitchen, 4 piece Bathroom, Bedroom and Living Room with Walkout to Patio, Fully Fenced Lot Backing onto the Original Orchard- 3 car Driveway, Main Floor Laundry and More!... 06/26/2009

I recently attended a seminar on " Taxation of Residential Real Estate" put on  by the Oakville Real Estate Board. The speaker was Maureen Tabuchi and was sponsered by Insuranceland and Colour Tech marketing One expense often overlooked is moving expenses. You can potentially garner a huge refund providing you move at least 40 kilometers to another location. Your moving expenses might be allowable if you are employed  and your new home is closer to work, you are moving closer to your self employed business. You are a full time student and moving to attend school or closer to a summer job. Many expenses that may be deductable are as follows, packing, breaking a lease, furniture storage, insurance costs, transportation costs, up to 15 days of meals, mortgage prepayment penalties, legal fe... 06/25/2009

Traveling north up Guelph Line inBurlington , you eventually come to the beautiful historic village of 'Lowville '. It is aptly named as it sits in an emerald-green, lush valley where  sparkling Bronte Creek  flows prettily through. I was in Lowville last week and it was the most pleasant short excursion experience I've had in awhile.                                                  The road that leads to the stream and past the old stone schoolhouse is lined with tall lilacs which are presently in bloom. The beautiful scent carried throughout the village and brought to mind what all of our pioneer villages must have been like 150 years ago. Lowville is having it's 'Largest Street Sale ' this Thursday, Friday and Saturday (May 28, 29 and 30th) from 8am-3pm. This treasure-hunter's dream ... 05/28/2009

The numbers are in and it is definitly not all doom and gloom !! There were 1232 homes sold in April.This represents a 12.6% decrease from last April 2008. We have had two quarters of declines, however some pricing is returning to last years levels.  The average freehold price was $ 302,306 which is a 0.3% increase. Condominiums are down 5% with an average price is $ 213,675.00 . The warm weather and excellent interest rates are adding excitement to the real estate market. This also demonstrates that Real Estate in Canada is and always will be an excellent long term investment. Some statistics have been provided by the Hamilton - Real estate Board. If you are Listing your home it is still imperative ( as always )  to price your home properly. There is still lots of inventory that is not... 05/07/2009

                                                         [Pictures provided courtesy of the Aldershot Community Festival Committee] The Aldershot Community Festival will be taking place on May 30, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Hidden Valley Park.  As you can see from the photos above, last year's event was a huge success with over 2,000 people in attendance. This year's festival promises to be just as much fun.  The Field and Stream Rescue Team will be holding their annual Rubber Duck Race starting at 2 p.m.  Get there early to purchase your duck.  As well, there are a lot of children's activities, a scavenger hunt, a 3-legged race, a vendors area and a United Way BBQ. And what would the day be without some great musical entertainment.  Well, this year, Hot Buttered Soul will be ... 05/03/2009

  I am amazed how strong the market is considering all the layoffs in the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing sector has been hit hard. Low interest rates and a diversified economy have helped to hold up our Real estate market along with our strong Canadian Banks.  The Hamilton-Burlington area real estate market showed a total of 1,044 unit sales in March, this is a decrease of 4.7 per cent from March 2008. The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of March was $277,406.In the condominium market the average price of condominiums in March was $210,519. March's total average residential sales price decreased 9.4 per cent over the same month in 2008. Sales have been steady and many buyers are taking advantage of very competitive interest rates. Spring has c... 04/08/2009

Open house at 4886 Verdi Street in Burlington on Saturday April 4th between 2:00pm and 4:00pm. Upscale Alton Village corner lot beauty with 1900 ft2 of living space.  3 bedroom + Den and 2.5 bathrooms.  Oversized Master bedroom with ensuite including Jacuzzi tub, separate shower and large walk-in closet.  Eat-in kitchen with walkout to the fenced in yard.  Separate dining room, bedroom level laundry and high end upgrades throughout.  Inside garage access.  Close to highways, shopping and schools.  Great property for young families who need the extra space!  Bring all offers!  Come see it before it sells.  A beautiful home for only $339,900! Own this Burlington Beauty for payments as low as $676.90! For your community real estate resource centre, click here. For more information on buyi... 04/02/2009

As many are aware we will likely have to not only charge 5% on our commissions, but an additional tax to a total of 13% on Realtor Commissions.  However  I thought it would be good to provide a summary of  the rebate programs available by the Provincial and Federal Governments. Home Buyers Plan         A Program that allows you to withdraw up to $ 25,000 from your RRSP towards buying or building a qualifying home for yourself or for a related person with a disability .                                  http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/rrsp-reer/hbp-rap/menu-eng.html Home Renovation Tax Credit       You can qualify for $ 1, 350 on home renovations if they are completed by next February.                                                  http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2009/fqhmrnv... 03/31/2009

I will be hosting an open house today at 592 Vanderburgh Drive, Burlington ON. This home is steps to NorthShore where you can have an enjoyable stroll  to spencer smith park. The home has hardwood and ceramics  with a year round celarium. Walkout to decks, pool patio with gas barbeque. Granite kitchen and updated bathroom by Opal.   MLS # H3007740 . Looking forward to seeing you there. Priced at $ 439,900.   03/15/2009

The February market has showed signs of life with 750 sales. However please note this is a 27.6% DECREASE  from last years stats. We have showed a 58% increase since January which demonstrates people have come out of hibernation. The average price of residential  properties is at $ 278,611 which is impressive compared to what has happened in the United States. The actual market price decline is 4.2%. As mentioned the biggest mistake people are making is they are chasing the market. Listing  your home on "fall Statistics" makes no sense.  Pricing is extremely critical, however I cannot emphasize enough the importance of home staging.   On a personal note I have ran open houses the past four weeks and the number of visitors has totalled to 56 family's and first time buyers. This is tremen... 03/14/2009

Construction is Underway for Affordable Housing in Burlington The Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and the Region of Halton are pleased to announce the construction of Bonnie Place II, an affordable housing development under the Canada - Ontario Affordable Housing Program located at 510 Claridge Road in Burlington. The $15.6 million, 83-unit project is sponsored by Bonnie Place and received a total of $5.32 million for 76 units for people living on low incomes. "The Government of Canada is committed to making affordable housing available in Ontario and across Canada for those who need it most," said Mike Wallace, Member of Parliament for Burlington, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. "The creation of these units h... 01/28/2009

  [Photo from Starlight Canada's website.] When I started up my business almost three years ago, I knew at some point I would want to find an organization to support - one that was special to me.  I've been looking for quite some time for a charity that would just jump out and "speak to me". There are SO many wonderful organizations out there so it became tough to choose one, but I finally came across a charity that just felt right for me.  That organization is Starlight Children's Foundation.  Starlight touches the lives of seriously ill children and their families by providing support and a little break from the pain and fear associated with serious illness while staying in the hospital.  As a parent myself, I can't begin to imagine what these families must go through, but I imagine t... 01/26/2009

January Market update for Burlington Hamilton: December 478 units have been sold. A estimated decrease of 27% from last year. For 2008 we were down in sales approximately 12.7%. The average price of residential properties were $ 255,000. Condos have held up wll with a slightly lower decrease. The average price was approximately$ 179,000.The first quarter is expected to be tough, and many sellers are listing their propertys based on fall statistics, not recognizing these prices were set before the " meltdown" . The U.S and Canada are poised for major spending  which hopefully will kick start the ecomony which especially in the manufacturing sector has grinded to a halt. The Postive is it is a good time to purchase with low interest rates and more realistic prices on the market . Real Es... 01/18/2009

    One of the best ways to protect your Condominium Investment is to join the Board of Directors. This position is often overlooked and is of extreme importance. The Condominium Manager takes direction from the Board. Condos have different declarations, rules etc. Generally Boards set the budget which is ratified at a AGM meeting. Unit owners are often not aware of the power a Board has and how much discretion they use. Often Boards  seem to have experience however  they  can lack common sense. I  have seen Boards spend money on " flower bed Maintenance , yet the driveways did not get paved. Just as in life there are wants and needs. Often Condominium Boards will overlook infrastructure repairs and focus on beautifying the complex. Believe me a good looking complex can be tough to sell... 12/15/2008

Rising from a cosy bed piled high with wool blankets, a thick quilt and flannelette sheets, I notice the light in the room is different. As I peek through the slatted blind covering the window nearest the bed, my heart softens to see a white and beautiful world where everything has a muffled tone and peace abounds. Slowly, slowly a feeling starts to envelop me once more. It's a familiar feeling and a very welcome, comforting one. The Christmas spirit has found me once more. I suppose it began the day before when, bundled up in a furry hood and cashmere scarf, I walked to the end of my street to watch the annual Burlington Santa Clause Parade go by. It had been an unusually cold and brisk day and my fingers had froze in my leather gloves each time I took them out of my pocket to take ano... 12/10/2008

The Headon Forest community is located in north Burlington between Guelph and Walker's Lines and Dundas Street and Upper Middle Road.  It has close access to the 407 highway and a short drive to the QEW. Construction in the community started in the early 1980's and is mainly detached homes with townhomes located close to Walker's Line.  Price ranges of the detached homes are from low $300,000 to a high of approximately $450,000. There is a good choice of grocery stores with Longos at Walker's and Dundas, Price Choppers at Walkers and Upper Middle Rd, Food Basics and Fortinos at Upper Middle Rd and Guelph Line, and No Frills at Dundas and Guelph Line. MM Robinson High School is at Upper Middle and Guelph Line, however, some students attend Nelson or Lester B Pearson secondary schools.  T... 11/25/2008

There's so much negative information out there, we thought it was time to sort it all out for you.  Does anyone know the future?  Absolutely not.  But it's important to sort out facts from opinion, and carefully eliminate the knee-jerk panic reactions.  Experience shows that decisions based on fear generally don't turn out very well. Most economists have agreed that the risks of the same fate in Canada are much lower because   of some important differences.  From nearly twenty recent reports and over 100 pages of stats, we've tried to summarize them here for you... Canada's subprime market is small (5-6 per cent of outstanding mortgages) whereas the U.S. share peaked at about three times that. As a share of originations, 20-25 per cent of new mortgages in the U.S. were subprime over the... 11/13/2008