Real estate news Kitchener Waterloo – March 18, 2012

Real estate sales up 

Last week, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported that home sale rose by 1.4% between January and February. Compared with the same reporting period the previous year, activity was 8.6% higher than February 2011. Over the first two months of 2012, some 61,772 homes were sold, which represents a 6.7% increase from January, February 2011.

On a year-over-year basis, average home sale prices were up by 2% in February 2012. The average price of all homes sold last month was $372,763.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said that there has been a jump in demand for single family homes in particular, which has put upward pressure on prices.

An early spring combined with historically low mortgage rates are certainly both responsible for the high demand.

 

Historic Bell Telephone building up for protection

After tearing down most of our historic buildings in the 1970’s, this sad and dilapidated red brick building on Ontario Street is up for protection. Built in the 1910’s it started out as the office for the Bell Telephone Company. It was then a government building for 27 years. But it spent the bulk of its life as the Legion (55 years).

Should it be saved?

After razing most of our history 40 years ago it’s sad to me that we have to save such a sad and insignificant building to preserve our heritage.

 

A new newspaper for Kitchener Warterloo

Sun Media announced Wednesday that it would launch four new weekly community newspapers in Ontario serving more than 400,000 homes. Kitchener Waterloo is one of the cities (the other three are Guelph, Ottawa and Windsor). It will be called the K-W Review. The Sun is primarily a “flyer wrap” though it’s entry into our local market will further erode the readership of our Waterloo Region Record.

Personally, I don’t want a newspaper delivered to my door. Since I stopped getting the Record, my recycling has been cut in half.

 

Links I like:

Why some housing markets do better than others.

The ten most competitive cities in the world

 

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This week in KW real estate:

March 10

March 3

February 25

February 18 

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