1. REAL ESTATE UPDATE
OCTOBER 2013
VOLUME, PRICES SURGE IN SEPTEMBER
Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7
,411 residential sales
through the TorontoMLS system in September - a whopping
30% increase versus September 2012 sales of 5,687 units.
Double digit volume increases occurred across all four key
market segments: single-detached (+34%), semi-detached
(+20%), townhomes (+31%) and condo apartments (+29%).
This is the third consecutive month of double digit volume
growth and demonstrates that the pent-up demand which
had built up over a one year period following the July 2012
introduction of stricter mortgage lending criteria is now being
satisfied in earnest. The bottom line is that home ownership
remains highly affordable given the current mix of prices,
interest rates, incomes and lending criteria guidelines.
The average price of a GTA resale home in September was
$533,797 - a healthy 6% increase versus the September
2012 average price of $501,326. Price growth varied by market
segment: single-detached (+8%), semi-detached (+2%),
townhomes (+10%) and condo apartments (-2%). In addition,
the MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark (which
factors out price changes based on sales mix) was up by
4% on a year-over-year basis. The price growth story in
September continued to be about strong demand for lowrise home types, coupled with a short supply of listings. Even
with moderately lower price growth and the month-to-month
volatility of the condo apartment market, overall price growth
has remained well above the rate of inflation.
GTA AVERAGE RESALE PRICE
GTA RESALE HOME SALES
12,000
2011
2012
2013
$560,000
10,500
9,000
$480,000
4,500
$460,000
3,000
2013
$500,000
6,000
2012
$520,000
7,500
2011
$540,000
$440,000
$420,000
1,500
JAN
MAR
MA
Y
JU
L
SP
E
NO
V
JAN
MAR
MA
Y
JU
L
SP
E
NO
V
for more detailed GTA statistics: JAMESMETCALFE.INFO
James Metcalfe
416-931-4161
w w w.OurHomeT
oronto.com
BROKER
Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.
Johnston & Daniel Division, Brokerage
477 Mount Pleasant Rd., Toronto, ON M4S 2L9
| Service@OurHomeT
oronto.com
1

2. CONDO
CORNER
OPPRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR — DO WE HAVE A SOLUTION?
There is a big difference between a neighbour w ho might be irritating
In a preliminary matter, M s. Korolekh’s law yers attempted to convince
and a neighbour w hose behaviour is so overw helming or oppressive
the Court that the issue(s) were required to be mediated pursuant to
that the entire condominium community is held hostage.
Sections 132 and 134 of the Act). The Court held that an application
Over the past ten years, there have been several reported Ontario
for compliance w ith the Act does not have to be firstly mediated.
Court Applications by condominium corporations attempting to
The Judge went over the affidavit materials and the cross examination
restrict or deal w ith very difficult ow ners.
of same. By the time the case was before the Judge, over a year had
In the recent case of M etropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation
been spent in legal steps.
No. 747 v. Natalia Korolekh, the Ontario Court dealt w ith the problem
At the end of the hearing, the Judge decided that, in fact, Ms.
in a very decisive manner. This decision is important for several
Korolekh was clearly in breach of Section 117 of the Act but it was
reasons that w ill be set out in this article.
the consequence of this non compliance w hich is so interesting. The
M s. Korolekh ow ned a condominium unit in a two level complex
Judge ordered that:
in the Y
onge and Bay Street area of downtown Toronto. It was a
1 . M s. Korolekh must list and sell her unit w ithin three months after
courtyard type of development. M s. Korolekh also owned a large
the order;
Rottweiler dog that was not always kept on a leash.
2 . M s. Korolekh must not purchase, lease or reside in any other unit
The affidavit
w ithin the condominium corporation;
evidence by the condominium corporation was
considerable and was certainly accepted by the Judge as being
3.In the meantime, M s. Korolekh must comply w ith the Act as well
truthful.
as the condominium declaration, bylaw s and rules and was restrained
For a period of over two years, Ms. Korolekh subjected the
condominium residents and their guests to a consistent steam of
harassment, racial slurs, obscene remarks and threats. M s. Korolekh
apparently was often intoxicated and would allow her dog to roam
freely throughout the courtyard area w ithout a leash. She would also
hold the dog on its leash and taunt the residents w ith threats that
she would release the dog and direct it to attack the resident(s).
After over a year of this type of behaviour, the condominium
corporation instructed its law yer to w rite a letter advising that the
dog had been declared a nuisance and had to be removed w ithin a
two-week period as provided in the corporation’s bylaw s. This was
ignored.
from assaulting, threatening, using profane racist or homophobic
language and committing any acts of mischief in relation to any
residents of the condominium corporation or their property;
4 . M s. Korolekh must remove her dog from her unit and common
elements w ithin ten days after the order;
5.Non compliance w ith the order could be enforced by the
condominium corporation immediately;
M s. Korolekh had to pay the condominium corporation’s legal costs
of $35,000 w ithin thirty days after the order.
The good new s about the Korolekh case is that it establishes a further
precedent for the Ontario Courts to deal w ith oppressive and abusive
behavior in a very decisive manner. No longer is a person’s home
his/her “ castle”. With the right evidence, the Courts will order the
Ultimately, the condominium corporation brought an application
pursuant to Section 134 of the Condominium Act, 1998 (the “Act” )
for a compliance order requiring M s. Korolekh to comply w ith Section
117 of the Act (No person shall permit a condition or activity to exist
in a unit or on the common elements if such condition or activity is
likely to damage the property or cause injury to an individual).
home sold and the offending ow ner removed from the condominium
complex.
The bad new s is that condominium residents must still be subject
to extreme abuse for a considerable period of time before there
is enough evidence to convince a Court that there has been a
contravention of Section 117 of the Act and something must be done
to stop it.
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This article was contributed by John D. Peart. John practices condominium law with the law firm Nelligan O’Brien Payne. Please visit them at nelligan.ca.

3. HOUSE
SMART
t
FALL FURNACE PRIM ER
The outside w inter air is cold and dry. The inside w inter air is dry.
Our chapped lips, dry skin and static zaps from doorknobs remind us
What do I do?
If you have a drum style unit, the tray of sitting water is your nemesis.
of that all season long. Homes like the dry environment, but dry air
Ponding water w ill cause scale build-up and bacterial grow th. Every
makes people uncomfortable. While an ideal humidity for homes can
spring, the water supply pipe valve should be turned off, the tray and
be as low as 5% , people prefer about 60% humidity. And because
sponge should be cleaned, and the humidistat should be set to OFF
.
people are more powerful than homes, we add humidifiers to have
In the fall, turn on the water valve, and set the humidistat to 35% .
it our way.
We recommend a mid-w inter cleaning as well.
Do I need a humidifier?
If your house is new, you may not have a humidifier. Y may not
ou
If you have a cascade style unit, turn off the water supply and turn
need one because the foundation and wood framing are still drying
and soak the pad in de-scaling solution. If it is damaged or too
out, releasing moisture into the air. Also, new houses are “ tight”,
clogged to clean, the pad can be replaced. Once the pad is back in
w hich means the air w ithin them hangs around for a w hile before
place, the water supply pipe valve can be turned back on, and the
being replaced by dry exterior air. It hangs around long enough to
humidistat set to 35% . This unit w ill not need cleaning again until
pick up moisture from things like showers, cooking, drying clothes
next year.
and breathing. By comparison, old houses are drafty. Cold, dry air is
creeping in all the time, drying out the home as it flushes the warm
How much is too much?
As we said, people like about 60% relative humidity. Unfortunately,
moist air out.
houses have a hard time coping w ith this in cold weather. Too little
Do I have one?
If there is a small box like the one in the picture hanging from the
humidity makes people feel uncomfortable. Too much can cause
furnace or ductwork beside the furnace w ith a small electrical w ire
cool surfaces. What confuses many people is that as the weather
and a small water hose attached, then YES. Y may also see the
ou
gets colder, we have to LOWER the humidistat setting, even though
humidistat, a dial that looks like the thermostat but is used to control
we want to raise it. This is because the colder it is outside, the easier
the humidity level, and is often mounted to the basement ductwork.
it is for condensation to form on cool surfaces like window s. We can
A drum type humidifier has a tray of water w ith a sponge barrel or
reduce condensation by lowering the interior humidity level.
the humidistat to OFF in the spring. Before use in the fall, remove
condensation, mould, mildew, and rot as the warm moist air hits
drum rotating through it. The tray is kept full with a float switch,
w hich allow s water from the house plumbing to enter the tray w hen
the water level drops. When the humidistat is turned up or the
humidity level drops, a small electric motor rotates the sponge drum
through the tray, absorbing water. Some of the air moving through
the ductwork blow s across the sponge, picking up moisture. This
moist air moves through the ducts and into the rooms.
Cascade type humidifiers have no tray of water. A small electric
valve at the top controls the water supply to the humidifier. When
the humidistat calls for water, the valve opens, trickling water dow n
a honeycomb-like metal pad. Air blow s across the pad, picking up
moisture. Excess water is drained through a hose to a floor drain,
laundry tub, or condensate pump.
Keeping an eye on the amount of condensation on your w indow s
is another great way to gauge your house humidity level. Y can
ou
also track things w ith a room temperature and humidity monitor,
available at hardware and building supply stores.
This article was contributed by Carson Dunlop Boulevard, a leading home inspection company. Please visit them at www.boulevardinspection.com
3

4. If you have conducted a real estate transaction in recent years, you
Once the ability to use e-signatures in real estate transactions
have undoubtedly noticed at least a few of the many technological
throughout the province becomes a reality, the transition to doing
advancements that are now part of the process. You can now view
so should be sw ift thanks to the efforts of the Canadian Real Estate
properties on realtor.ca from your mobile phone, advertise your listing
Association (CREA). It recently announced that it has finalized
on a range of real estate websites from coast to coast, and so on.
agreements w ith two providers - DocuSign and Authentisign - w hich
w ill enable signatures to be executed securely online on forms
How ever there is one step in the process that remains as traditional
know n as “ WebForms”.
as ever: the need for signatures in every real estate transaction.
Current Ontario legislation prohibits the use of electronic signatures
This technology lets you easily sign documents anytime, anyw here,
on agreements that create an interest in land.
w ithout the time-consuming process of printing, faxing, or arranging
meetings simply to provide signatures. In a world w here efficiency
How ever this too may soon become a thing of the past. A proposal by
is key to successful outcomes, and w here we all need to be more
the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) to amend the Electronic
conscious of our carbon footprint, e-signatures w ill undoubtedly be a
Commerce Act, 2000 was included in the recent provincial budget.
welcome alternative for homebuyers and sellers across the province.
If passed, it w ill provide electronic Agreements of Purchase and Sale
As usual, your referrals are both highly valued and much appreciated.
w ith the same legal protections as other forms of e-commerce.
Until next time, take care!
James Metcalfe BROKER
“ YOUR REFERRALS ARE SINCEREL APPRECIATED! THANK YOU!”
Y
416-931-4161
w w w.OurHomeT
oronto.com
| Service@OurHomeT
oronto.com
Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.
Johnston & Daniel Division, Brokerage
477 Mount Pleasant Rd., Toronto, ON M4S 2L9
“ My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare. – Mike Myers
”
“Give me golf clubs, fresh air and a beautiful partner, and you can keep the clubs and the fresh air” – Jack Benny
.
“The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going. – George Carlin “New
”
Y is an exciting town where something is happening all the time, most unsolved. – Johnny Carson
ork
”
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TOR® Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract with a broker. The
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information and opinions contained in this newsletter are obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The publishers assume no responsibility for errors and omissions or for damages resulting from using the
published information. This newsletter is provided with the understanding that it does not render legal, accounting or other professional advice. Statistics are courtesy of the Toronto Real Estate Board. Copyright © 2013 Mission Response
Inc. 416.236.0543 All Rights Reserved.
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