Top 10 Neighbourhoods To Buy In TO

Towards the end of last year, I did a blog post about the top 10 neighbourhoods to buy in Toronto, as reported by Toronto Life. At the time, the full report wasn't out, I was just giving you a sneak preview. Well, it finally is, so let's go into more detail about where to buy now in Toronto according to Toronto Life.


1. Mimico, "because it's one lakefront revitalization that's on schedule":
-Waterfront views not blocked by the Gardiner
-Lakeshore Blvd. is showing signs of revitalization
-Big lot sizes
-Boundaries:

• From Islington Ave to the Humber River
• From the Gardiner Expressway to the lake

-Average prices:

• 2010 $390,677
• 2011 $441,642

2. East End Danforth, "because million-dollar homes, modest semis and co-ops commingle close to the beach":
-Great urban mix
-Anything goes here from brand new townhomes, to detached Edwardians to co-op housing mixed with parks and the boardwalk
-Boundaries:

• Woodbine Ave to Victoria Park Ave
• Doncaster Ave to Kingston Rd

-Average prices:

• 2010 $470,180
• 2011 $499,022

3. Christie Pits, "because good parks make good neighbours":
-Big community vibe with the garden and summer movie nights
-More toddlers and strollers vs. crime and drug dealers
-Homes with history
-How can you say no to the new Starbucks?
-Boundaries:

• From Ossington Ave to Christie St
• From the railroad tracks north of Dupont St to Bloor St W

-Average prices:

• 2010 $533,213
• 2011 $623,609

4. St. Lawrence, "because everything an urbanite needs is within a five minute walk":
-Spacious condo units
-Has the St. Lawrence market!
-New condo buildings being developed
-Very walker friendly, but anti-car
-Boundaries:

• From Yonge St to Parliament St
• From Front St E to the Gardiner Expressway

-Average prices:

• 2010 $385,609
• 2011 $401,811

5. L'Amoreaux, "because the suburban ideal is alive in Scarborough":
-Big lot sizes
-Majority of homes are 4 bedroom minimum
-Public schools have specialty programs
-Lot's of greenery
-Boundaries:

• From Victoria Park Ave to Kennedy Rd
• From McNicoll Ave to Huntingwood Dr

Average prices:

• 2010 $314,152
• 2011 $322,496

6. Blake-Jones, "because of the friendly cul-de-sacs in the pocket":
-15 minute comunte to downtown
-Neighbours actually know each other
-Residents are committed to greening the area
-Boundaries:

• From Pape Ave to Greenwood Ave
• From Danforth Ave to the railroad tracks north of Gerrard

-Average prices:

• 2010 $485,535
• 2011 $584,455

7. Davisville Village, "because it's the last place under $1 million off Yonge":
-Great schools
-Family friendly
-Beautiful homes between $600,000-$800,000 while having the conveniences of Yonge St
- Yummy cafes and restaurants
-Boundaries:

• From Yonge St to Bayview Ave
• From Eglinton to Mount Pleasant Cemetery

-Average prices:

• 2010 $592,110
• 2011 $604,556

8. Corktown, "because the historic neighbourhood has lofty ambitions":
- Turned into a booming neighbourhood with plenty of lofts
-River City development
-Regent Park revitalization
-Boundaries:

• From Berkeley St to River St
• From Shuter St to Front St

-Average prices:

• 2010 $428,017
• 2011 $501,055

9. Wallace-Emerson, "because urban tastemakers and young families are changing the neighbourhood":
-Hipsters are snatching up properties in this area
-Lot's of new bars, cafes and restaurants
-Still affordable and close to downtown
-And it's close to my hood!
-Boundaries:

• From the railroad tracks west of Perth Ave to Dufferin St
• From the railroad tracks above Dupont St to Bloor St

Average prices:

• 2010 $418,698
• 2011 $434, 112

10. Brockton Village, "because Lansdowne's shedding  its grundgy skin-without becoming generic":
-Affordable yet urban
-Several hip shops, cafes, brunch spots and restaurants
-Old Victorian homes are a favourite
-Boundaries:

• Railroad tracks off Dundas St W
• Meeting at Dufferin and Queen West and Bloor St

-Average Prices:

• 2010 $418,698
• 2011 $434,112

Those are your top 10 neighbourhoods to buy in now! Let me know if your hood made the list or if you agree or disagree with the choices.

Have a great weekend!
***Maps via Wikipedia***
***Information via Toronto Life***

Cheap vs. Rich Housing Markets

On MSN News, I recently came across the 10 least expensive cities and 10 most expensive postal codes to buy in, in Canada. Frankly speaking, I wasn't really surprised at the results, but I thought I would share them with all of you. I know my neighbourhood, the Junction Triangle, definitely did not make either lists, which I guess is a good thing overall, but what I do know is that it's not cheap to live in Toronto and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know for myself, that I could never live in the suburbs even if it meant having more land and cheaper housing as I'm a city girl at heart and I would want my future children to be as well. Having said that, I also do not need to live in the most expensive neighbourhood either, I hope my future place of residence, somewhere I won't move for a long time, is Palmerston Blvd, a neighbourhood with a ton of history and walking distance to Bloor St and College St (and yes I know it's not super cheap to live there either). Now that I have completely gone off on a rant, here is the information you have been waiting for. I will start with the least expensive cities first. Keep in mind that the average price of a home in the GTA for October 2011 was $478,137 (TREB).

10 Least Expensive Cities To Buy A Home



10. St. Catharines

• October 2011 $243,103
• Change from October 2010 +2.6%

9. London and St. Thomas

• October 2011 $238,963
• Change from October 2010 +2.0%

8. Sudbury

• October 2011 $237,072
• Change from October 2010 +9.1%, wow!

7.  Gatineau

• October 2011 $231,601
• Change from October 2010 +5.9%

6. Sherbrooke

• October 2011 $217,007
• Change from October 2010 +10.1%

5. Windsor-Essex

• October 2011 $175,386
• Change from October 2010 +1.3%

4. Saguenay

• October 2011 $174,653
• Change from October 2010 +3.4%

3. Thunder Bay

• October 2011 $167,424
• Change from October 2010 +26.4%, that's a big jump!

2. Saint John

• October 2011 $161,691
• Change from October 2010 -2.0%, property values went down

And the cheapest city to buy a home is............

1. Trois Rivieres

• October 2011 $154,537
• Change from October 2010 +0.7%

Would you live in any of these cities for the cheaper real estate and potentially more land?

Now here comes the good stuff, where the wealthy Canadians call home......

10 Most Expensive Postal Codes To Buy A Home



10. Kleinburg, Vaughan (L0J)

• Prices $800,000-$6.3 million
• Average Net Worth: $2.5 million

9. Forest Hill South, Toronto (M5P)

• Prices $1million-$13million
• Average Net Worth: $2.5 million

8. Chartwell and Bristish Properties (V7S)

• Prices $2million-$13million
• Average Net Worth: $2.69 million

7. St. Andrew-Windfield West (M2P)

• $800,000-$5.5 million
• Average Net Worth: $2.7 million

6. Horeshoe Bay and Area (V7W)

• Price $850,000-$16 million!!!!
• Average Net Worth: $2.99 million

5. Springbank (T3Z)

• Prices $1million-$6million
• Average Net Worth: $3.1 million

4. St Andrew-Windfield East (M2L)

• Prices $1million-$10million
• Average Net Worth: $3.4 million

3. Rosedale (M4W)

• Prices $1million-$9million
• Average Net Worth: $3.6 million

2. Westmount (H3Y)

• Prices $1million-$4.5million
• Average Net Worth $3.69 million

And the most expensive neighbourhood to buy a home is............

1. Lawrence Park (M4N)

• Prices $1million-$9million
• Average Net Worth $3.8 million

 Do you live in any of these neighbourhoods? If so, can we be friends?

New Project!

The time has come to move onto my next project, I was sad to see the last one go as it was my favourite that I have done to date. But not to fear as this house is on the same street, just a bit further up so my awesome neighbours will be close by and I will still be in my neighbourhood, the Junction Triangle.

I will be sharing this project with all of you, step by step, giving you tips, tricks and great finds on materials. I can't wait to finally be done, as living in renovations is not fun at all, it will be like camping in the winter, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

This home is a semi detached featuring 3 bedrooms, 2 washrooms and front pad parking. It is a few feet away from a park and they are just setting up the outdoor skating rink, perfect for a growing family.

Here are the before pictures, renovations begin on Monday!

Before...exterior

Don't you just love that orange brick colour....not!

Before...entryway and stairs

The house has a lot of nice charm and character

Before...living room and dining room

I plan to open this all up, can't wait, it's always the biggest change seeing the walls come down

Before...main floor


Before...kitchen

I'm going all out on this kitchen, as kitchen and bathrooms sell homes, I will replace this island with a more impressive one

Before...kitchen


Love gas stoves!

Before...kitchen cabinets

A brand new custom kitchen will replace this one, with a stone counter top and beautiful faucet that I already bought and featured on my blog previously.

Before...3rd bedroom

This will become my new office

Before...3rd bedroom closet

Is that half a kitchen in my 3rd bedroom closet?

Before...main washroom

I have big plans for this baby!

Before...main washroom


Before...2nd bedroom

This will be my guest bedroom...don't you just love those orange walls, it matches the outside brick

Before...upstairs hallway


Before...master bedroom

Lacking some serious closet space...I'm worried!

Before...stairway to the basement

Scary!

Before...basement

Everything has got to go, I'm lucky that it's a pretty tall basement for such an old house

Before...basement bathroom

Blue tiles...really?

Before...backyard

Going to turn this into a backyard oasis

Park...super close to my house

Skating rink....right inside the park!


I can't wait to get started!

Top 10 Neighbourhoods in Toronto

***Image via Ork Posters***

Earlier last week, Global News reported that Toronto Life magazine will be releasing their annual real estate issue this Thursday, including the top 10 neighbourhoods in Toronto. Luckily, Global News received an advance copy of the issue and shared with us the top 10 neighbourhoods. There's not much information on how it's decided or even much about the neighbourhoods themselves. I guess we will have to wait until Thursday for the issue to be released by Toronto Life. For now I will leave you with the list, my neighbourhood made the list, let me know if yours did too.

1. Mimico- from Islington Ave to Humber River and from the Gardiner to Lake Ontario
2. East End Danforth- from Woodbine Ave to Victoria Park Ave and Doncaster Ave to Kingston Rd
3. Christie Pits - from Ossington Ave to Christie St and Dupont St to Bloor St (one of my favs!)
4. St. Lawrence- from Yonge St to Parliment St and Front to the Gardiner
5. L'Amoreux- from Victoria Park Ave to Kennedy Rd and Mcnicoll Ave to Huntingwood Dr
6. Blake-Jones- from Pape Ave to Greenwood Ave and Danforth Ave to the railroad tracks north of Gerrard Ave
7. Davisville Village- from Yonge St to Bayview Ave and Eglinton Ave to Mount Pleasant Cemetery
8. Corktown- from Berkeley St to River St and Shuter St to Front St
9. Wallace Emerson-Junction- Railroad tracks west of Perth Ave to Dufferin St and from the railroad tracks above Dupont St to Bloor St (this is my neighbourhood...yay....I love the West end!)

Apparently Global News either does not know how to count to 10 or maybe they are holding us in suspense for the 10th neighbourhood until the article is released on Thursday, who knows, either way it's not listed.

To watch the short video by Global News regarding the top 10 neighbourhoods, you can click here.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, mine was filled with packing, moving and the Wailers concert, it would have been amazing if Bob Marley was there too, but nonetheless I was glad to be a part of history!

Halloween Night!

How was your Halloween? I know mine was great! I took out my god daughter and my little sister as well as Harley, of course! We went trick or treating in my neighbourhood, the Junction Triangle, where tons of kids and adults were all dressed up. Our night consisted of scary houses, jack-o-lanterns, doggies in costumes and lots of silliness, I must say Halloween was a huge success!

2nd Project

After selling my first house and searching for months and months for my next one, I finally found it! This house was in rough shape and was definitely not a lipstick job. It was the first time that I would actually be knocking out walls and re designing the floorplan on the main floor. I was a bit hesitant, but excited all at the same time. Out of all the projects I have done, this tops the list as one of my favourites. It was a big semi detached home featuring 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms (unusual for old houses in Toronto), finished basement, a deck off the master bedroom and 3 car parking, perfect for a family.
I know you're all anxious to see it, so here it is, let me know what you think!

Before...exterior

After...exterior

Curb appeal is everything and this house was majorly lacking it, I didn't have much to work with as the outside is aluminum siding, so I cleaned it up, landscaped it with new grass and bushes and painted the concrete by the front door, to give it a stone look...what a difference!

Before...main floor

On the main floor the living room and dining room were split up into 2 bedrooms, so I knocked out all the walls to make it open concept
Living Room

I also kept part of the wall separating the front door from the living room, so that when you walked inside the house, you wouldn't be standing right in your living room
Dining Room

Love the exposed brick...what a great discovery!
After...living room

New laminate floor, new paint, new window coverings and of course some staging!
After...dining room

To bring out the exposed brick, I painted an accent wall in a rust colour to tie it back to the brick

Before...kitchen and sunroom

After...kitchen

The original kitchen cabinets were great, but needed a face lift, so once again I painted the cabinets in a light beige colour and added handles. To save on cost, I hired the people from Countertop Makeovers to reface my existing back splash, kitchen counter and island. They had a huge selection of colours to choose from, were in and out in a few hours, no mess to clean up and saved me tons of money in the process. Paired with new stainless steel appliances, pot lights, new laminate floor and paint.....the kitchen looks amazing!!!
After...sunroom

This room was just off the kitchen and is also the entrance to the backyard and lane parking...it is a big space and I didn't want it to go to waste so I thought it would make a perfect office (the house already has a mud room at the front entrance). New laminate floor, paint and custom window coverings went a long way here.

Before...main floor powder room

The main floor has a washroom which is a huge bonus, but it also had a shower, which I thought was a bit odd, the bathtub was also eating up space in the kitchen. So I decided to turn it into a powder room by removing the tub, this also created extra space in the kitchen.
After...main floor powder room

I kept the original toilet and sink and with some new paint, mirror and light fixture, the bathroom turned out great.

Before...upstairs

After...upstairs

Again, new paint and laminate floor, goes a long way in the upstairs hallway

Before...master bedroom

After...master bedroom

The master bedroom was a kitchen, so I ripped it out, had the drywall fixed up and it was ready for new laminate floor and paint...this bedroom is great because of the size and the deck...it was hard to part with it

Before...2nd bedroom
 
After...2nd bedroom

New laminate floor, paint, window coverings and staging....voila!

Before...3rd bedroom

After...3rd bedroom

Since one of the walls shared a wall with the main washroom upstairs, I decided to make a semi ensuite for this bedroom. It also got new laminate floor, paint, window coverings and staging...this bedroom could double as a master bedroom

Before...main washroom

After...main washroom

New porcelain tile floor, new toilet, new mirror/medicine cabinet, new light fixture, new subway tiles in the shower, new paint and can't forget the new rain shower head...looks so much better!

Backyard Oasis

Unfortunately, I don't have a before picture, but it was a sight for sore eyes, the entire backyard had interlocking with no greenery whatsoever, so I ripped up the majority of the interlocking and kept enough as a walkway from the parking as well as for the patio set and added new grass and flowers as well as a new fence.....backyards are suppose to be an extension of the house, an oasis, and I think this one was a success!

After living in this house for a while and truly enjoying it, it was time to sell it and move on.....I'm sure the new buyers are loving it just as much as I did.

Happy Halloween!