It’s Condolicious … !

According to The Star, revenues from the controversial municipal Land Transfer Tax are coming in way less than projected. It’s likely to fall far short of the proposed $300 million the tax would bring to the city considering the economic fears, credit crisis, and the slowing of real estate sales. Not many would have guessed that we’d be situated in this global mess, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what this tax would do to Toronto’s real estate market.

Come on councillors … didn’t you give yourselves a nice, hefty payraise because you’re capable of accomplishing what you were set out to do e.g. balancing the city’s budget without taxing us to death? Each councillor’s raise would have placed 10-15 individuals or families in new homes tax-free.

A study is being conducted on the City’s Land Transfer Tax and it will enlighten us on whether the tax was a bright idea or not.

Poll time – slightly bias answers

Toronto’s new land transfer tax isn’t quite the solution to the city’s budget crisis it was touted to be when Mayor David Miller finally pushed the controversial measure past city council last fall.

The city had projected it would collect about $155 million in 2008, already considerably less than the $300 million per year mentioned in the original pitch. But the first five months of the tax, starting Feb. 1, actually brought in only $54.8 million.

Since then, the credit crunch, stock market gyrations, recession fears and possible budget deficits in the federal and provincial governments have taken a toll on consumer confidence – and on real estate values.

The official line is that the tax is still on-target for this year, avoiding a huge hole in the budget. But that would require collecting $100 million in just six months, which would seem impossible given the declining market and the fact the typical top sales months are already past.

And so far, no one at city hall is offering projections for next year.

Miller and allies got the transfer tax passed last year after an acrimonious, months-long debate on the grounds it would save taxpayers from a punishing tax hike. They succeeded only after a summer of budget-slashing, followed by compromise.

The tax was originally supposed to mirror the provincial land transfer tax, with rates that would generate $300 million annually. But to ensure council approval last October, the rates were lowered. For example, on a $400,000 home, the provincial tax is $4,475; the city tax only $3,725. Also, first-time buyers qualify for a rebate up to $3,725.

Councillors complain they’ve been kept in the dark about the tax revenue figures.

Councillor Michael Thompson has asked Miller in writing for details of contingency plans should the land transfer tax fall short, and whether service cuts may be needed to balance the 2009 operating budget. He hopes for an answer by next week’s council meeting.

“Specifically as it relates to the land transfer tax, I don’t think we’ve been kept up to date on it,” Thompson said.

The mayor expects to be able to balance the budget, including a 2 per cent to 4 per cent increase in the property tax to meet inflation, but without imposing big service cuts, said spokesperson Stuart Green.

“The mayor’s plan all along is to introduce budgets that are balanced. We were able to do that last year and we should be able to do that this year,” Green said.

But Von Palmer, spokesperson for the Toronto Real Estate Board, says the housing market “seems to be in a downward trend.”

“There’s no doubt that the land transfer tax isn’t helping,” he said yesterday. “It’s an upfront cost that people have to pay.”

Councillor Paul Ainslie, a member of the budget committee, said officials referred to declining numbers when he recently asked about revenues from the new taxes.

“That’s when they started saying … it’s nowhere near where it was expected to be,” Ainslie said.

Other councillors on the budget committee, however, say concerns about a declining real estate market are overblown.

Councillor Adrian Heaps said developers have had no trouble selling out a new subdivision at Warden and St. Clair Aves. Even high-end homes are selling, he said.

Toronto is in good shape relative to other centres, added Councillor Gord Perks.

Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/520934

Once my afternoon appointments were over in downtown I quickly drove home for a very important meeting … with my television   I had the evening schedule blocked out so that I could watch the U.S. Open finals featuring Roger Federer and Andy Murray.  I got home at 5PM just in time for the start.  Turned on CBS and it’s the news.  Waited a little while and later checked TV guide.  Argh - they aren’t showing it!

Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts to winning the U.S. Open 2008 Champtionships in 3 sets over Andy Murray of the United Kingdom. This is after his "winning roll". (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

First off, I would like to boo the people in charge of not broadcasting The U.S. Open finals on CBS in Toronto.  How could you do this? tsk tsk   Thankfully, I was able to find an live online stream.  It wasn’t the greatest quality (my nose was glued to the screen trying to follow the pixelated ball during rallies) but was good enough.

Hats off to Andy Murray for being a class act showing tremendous respect and also being a fierce competitor … well moments of fierceness.  I just hope he keeps on progressing as he had during this year and we’ll see many great battles from the top 4 in 2009.  One other thing I do hope is that he doesn’t pull a “Tsonga”.  Where has that guy disappeared to after smoking Nadal off the Australian Open courts???

And Congrats Mr. Federer!  It’s so wondeful to see you win this and showing the skeptics that you certainly do have a lot remaining in the tank.  I’m looking forward to 2009 and please … do work on that “winning roll” though :D  Perhaps do something like a cartwheel or roar while snapping your racquet in half!

For many years, Google Maps has been my go-to mapping destination.  It loaded quickly, had an easy to remember URL, user-friendly interface, and it gave me the results I was looking for.  All the other major players including Yahoo!, Microsoft and MapQuest were basically playing catch-up with Google.  I even used the Google Map API to mark For Sale listings on the map before the concept went mainstream in the Toronto market.  Although Google Maps wasn’t perfect, it did many things right.  It seemed like the site had gradually engraved into my subconscious so it was going to be challenging to pull me away from their service.

A year or so ago, Yahoo! launched a nifty upgrade to their mapping service.  The application and maps were aesthetically better and built using Flash.  However, the first time I used it has been my last so far.  Basically, it couldn’t locate my home address – a very simple request.  Nothing earth shattering but it just goes to show that you should not launch your service when it’s not ready!  Small mistakes will lead potential visitors to your competition.

Lately, I’ve been migrating to Microsoft Virtual Earth.  The URL (http://maps.live.ca) is somewhat hard to get use to but it definitely offers some benefits.  I enjoy using the Collections Stratchpad when planning my home showing route.  Also, a major one for me is updated map imagery.  It seems Google has relaxed on its throne for too long.  Users have sent requests stating that location ABC has the wrong image or location DEF images are outdated, but Google is slow to respond.

Below is an example of how outdated some of Google’s imagery is:

Google Maps: Infinity (30 Grand Trunk Cres.)

Do you recognize this area?  It’s York & Bremner.   Amenities include ACC, Union Station, Rogers Centre, CN Tower, and the lake to name a few.  Considering there are cranes up, I guestimate this image was taken in mid-2005.

Now here is Microsoft’s image:

Microsoft Virtual Earth: Infinity (30 Grand Trunk Cres.)

Both towers are complete!  Of course, two issues with this image.  There should be a parking lot to the immediate right of the building and, to the east of York Street, the Residences of Maple Leaf Square tower should be under construction.  Those sections of the image need some updating but definitely a big improvement over Google’s one.  Obviously this is a terrible sample size but I conducted several comparisons and overall Microsoft had newer imagery.  On top of that, Virtual Earth has a Bird’s Eye view feature with provides very good street-level detail of Toronto.  The Bird’s Eye view is taken at a 45 degree angle from four directions north, east, south and west.  The images are high-quality making it an excellent vehicle for potential home buyers to browse the neighbourhood.

Here’s a Bird’s eye view of The Residences of Maple Leaf Square (mentioned above):

Microsoft Virtual Earth: Bird's Eye View of Residences of Maple Leaf Square

If you have been in the area recently, you can tell that this image is very new.  Microsoft mapping division has done a good job so far and I’m happy to see that.  It’s made my real estate life easier!

Not to be outdone though, Google does have a “Street View” feature that has launched in selected cities.  Toronto is not one of them yet but there have been sightings of a Google Van with their large panoramic camera driving around the city.  Once Street View is available in Toronto, Google can rest on their throne again.

We participated in a survey and were awarded with a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate.  Oddly, Amazon.com is unable to transfer the gift certificate to one of their partner sites, namely Amazon.ca.  Since we don’t shop at Amazon.COM, we are making this gift certificate open to the first person who uses it.  The amount isn’t much but hopefully someone can put it to good use.

Here’s the information:

Gift Certificate Code: CCYQ-GMHDE2-X2SL
Gift Certificate Expiration Date: August 14th, 2008