Mark Savels Toronto Real Estate Blog » condos

Pug Awards 2010

Mark Savel — Fri, 21 May 2010 00:42:32 +0000

Yes, it’s true, as Canadians we are rather polite people…but in Toronto we’re also quite vocal! One of the many things I love about living in the City is how involved the people are in voicing their opinions, especially when it’s about the look of our high-rises!

Like any industry, the real estate one has a bunch of awards and competitions set up to reward builders for a job well done…problem is, none of these gives out trophies for the bad or the ugly. Thankfully we also have the Pug Awards!

Founded in 2004 (by Anna Simone, principal of design firm Cecconi Simone, and Gary Berman, president of real estate financier Tricon Capital Group) the goal of the Pugs is to give every day citizens a voice amongst the City planners and developers on what works and what doesn’t.

In total 41 projects (completed in 2009) are up for nomination. This year they’ve expanded the awards to also include projects outside of the downtown core. Pure Spirit at the Distillery, Toy Factory Lofts, the Arc and 60 Richmond East Housing Co-Operative are just a few of the 34 residential projects up for an award!

Past Pug winners include: the Art Gallery of Ontario, One St. Thomas Residences and Argyle Authentic Lofts…and for the losers we have: Hampton Plaza, Marriott Residence Inn, and Wellington Square to name a few. The Pugs will wrap up on June 16,2010 at the Art Gallery of Ontario with an award ceremony and round table discussion by several of the mayoral candidates. The candidates will be sharing their thoughts on how tomorrows Toronto should look like!

I’ve submitted my votes and now it’s your turn to either ”Love”, “Like” or “Hate” the newest additions to the Toronto skyline!

What Do You Call Home?

Mark Savel — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:22:00 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

I was cleaning up some old footage from my Flipcam the other day when I came across a few clips I caught of the City. With the Hot Docs film fest coming to town, I felt a bit “Spike-Leeish” and decided to put together a short vid of my own…enjoy!

When you’re ready to call Toronto home…call me!

Number One Bloor

Mark Savel — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:50:12 +0000

The wait is over! Plans for Number One Bloor have finally been made public, and I’ve been getting a ton of interest on the development. I won’t be spending too much time writing about it on SavelBlogs.com but head on over to BloorCondos.com for all the latest on Number One Bloor and other projects in the Bloor and Yonge area.

Barcodes, Real Estate, the Future!

Mark Savel — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:55:00 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

I felt as if Real Estate was starting to get really boring… again! More than text and photos, I believe the public wants to be engaged and given more than warped virtual tours and abbreviated descriptions i.e. “cndo 4 sle, ull luv it. gr8 $$$”

That’s why: From now on, all my listings will feature a video showing A LOT more than words can ever say! What’s even better is that you’ll be able to watch the video right from your mobile phone! Scan the barcode below from your phone for an example of my marketing in action!

Thinking of selling, i’d love to help…wow, i talk really fast!

Toronto Condo Rental Transactions UP!

Mark Savel — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:10:30 +0000

On June 3rd, the Toronto Real Estate Board released it’s latest rental report. The report measured transactions for the first 4 months of the year (Jan 1 to Apr 30,09) and found that 38% more deals had taken place compared to the same time last year. BUT there was also 60% more inventory, giving renters a bigger selection to choose from and more negotiating power. Thus leading to a small decline in monthly rental rates.

The report suggests that the increase in transactions “can be attributed to a strong increase in the number of condominium apartment completions at the end of 2008.” This may be one of the factors BUT my personal opinion is that a lot of sellers weren’t getting the prices they were hoping for, and instead electing to rent out their units until conditions improve. Add to the mix, cautious buyers unsure of where the market was heading and we get the results of the 1st third of the year!

May and June have brought a lot of activity back to the market and the next 4 months should give a clear indication of the direction of the market. If you’d like to be part of the next reports results, give me a call…i’d love to help! Click here for the full report!