Ongoing HST Revisions

Ontario Government Proposes Measures for New Housing

The McGuinty government is proposing measures that would build on the comprehensive tax package announced in the 2009 Ontario Budget:

• Enhanced new housing rebate - The province would enhance the new housing rebate so that new homes across all price ranges would receive a 75 per cent rebate of the provincial portion of the single sales tax on the first $400,000. For new homes under $400,000, this would mean, on average, no additional tax amount compared to the current system.
  

• New rental housing rebate - Similar to the enhanced new housing rebate, the province is proposing a rebate for new residential rental properties. This proposed rebate would support affordable rental housing across Ontario.

• Transitional rules - The province is also proposing transitional rules for new housing. Generally, as part of the transitional rules, sales of new homes under written agreements of purchase and sale entered into on or before June 18, 2009 would not be subject to the provincial portion of the single sales tax, even if both ownership and possession are transferred on or after July 1, 2010. The tax would also not apply to sales of new homes under written agreements of purchase and sale entered into after June 18, 2009 where ownership or possession is transferred before July 1, 2010.

Addition Tax details of the revised Harmonized Sales Tax

David Pylyp; OK So the Ontario Government will rebate 75% of the new Tax (HST) on Units or house acquired prior to July 1, 2010, What about the 1st time buyer's Rebate, Is that still available? Are the rebates across the board for 1st time and repeat buyers?

The Province has in place a land transfer tax refund for first-time home buyers. Information about it is available here: http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/english/refund/newhome/index.html

The enhanced housing rebate announced on Friday is only for newly constructed homes as these homes would be subject to the single sales tax when it comes into effect on July 1, 2010. Re-sale homes are not currently subject to PST and would also not be subject to the single sales tax.

What would you do with 500 - 1000 fresh page views per day?

Realtors need to embrace technology. We need to be abreast of new improvements that let us reach out to find Buyers for Listings, Sellers to List and Realtors to network for future referral business.

Websites provide an incredible marketing opportunity to showcase your talents and skills.
You can acquire a templated website or custom design a functional showcase for yourself. Both have benefits. Both have limitations.

My personal website journey began some six years ago when I acquired a point2agent site and added a templated site and waited for the Buyers and Sellers to find me. I received hundred of calls from SEO optimizations companies that would rank me First on Google for the paltry sum of $800 to $1,500 per month.

If their efforts ceased, what would happen to my website traffic?

Like a car on cruise control, (where there is no renewing content) You simply run out of gas and slow peacefully to a dead stop.

Everything that I have done online has been for free. It takes time and energy to SEO optimize a website and I can share a number of simple points with you here.

First, You need to create content in your website that is not advertorial about YOU. The website is not about you. The website is the market you serve and the services you provide. If you are looking for a car online you will not see the saleman's cheery smile on every page of content. The car will not flash, shimmer, dance before your eyes. It will be displayed from every conceivable angle to highlite the car's features.

We need to apply this lesson to real estate. Showcase the home. Feature the property, Highlite the exteriors. Display the benefits.

Advertise your items for sale. There are dozens if not hundreds of FREE, Yes FREE websites online that need and crave content for their own readership. Syndicate your ads to a number of different websites to gain readership that would not necessarily cross your path. Advertise yourself and your services on these sites and how you are a benefit to the owner.

Blogging- well Blogging is Blogging. there is a whole world that can gain you readership and credibility in a community by blogging about 1,000's of different blogging ideas. I'll leave that to you. Google free blogging ideas. You willl be innundated with things to draw concepts and ideas. Whether your choice is to blog about family and events or real estate matters exclusively is a personal choice. Everything is for good.

Directories and Links Back Links to your site. It is imperative, and normal that in the course of posting content, that you hyperlink to sites that are the source of your authority. (Remember footnotes on an essay?) This now extends further into Listing yourself on every directory that permits free postings. They KEY is free. The backlink directory can also become your own national referral network.

Make use of Google analytics to view and monitor the sources of traffic. What keywords are they searching for? Which websites directed them to you. Thats where you need to develop content and fine tune your webpages and landing pages.

Read and Google all the information you need to educate and increase your level of awareness about the tasks to drive your website successfully. If have never driven a car you understand the concept of driving but in reality you have no experience if no one tells you need to start the car first.

Many companies are offering the holy grail of traffic. Traffic without content does not convert. Conversion is measured tangibly by the number of people who sign in for something on your website or start an email dialogue with you. Do you wish to have 20 - 40 new prospects cross your (email) desk every month? Do you want the phone to ring with Buyers and Sellers who do not want to be bothered emailing you and want an immediate voice response.

Oh My Gosh, An agent who actually wants Prospects to call them. What a marvelous concept.

When you started in real estate you needed to learn new skills. On the MLS you needed to learn new systems. With website you need to learn how to code and load pages. Develop a focus or theme for your online presence. Participate with Active Rain, follow me on Twitter, Maybe you would like to video broadcast yourself on Youtube and reach a new audience.

I welcome your comments and experiences. What is your unique service proposition? Mine is online.

Tech Tools of the Trade

There are more than 28,000 REALTORS® in the Greater Toronto Area serving the needs of consumers. Many of the technological advances in recent years have allowed REALTORS® to serve their clients more efficiently. Many REALTORS®, for example, are available through a pager or wireless handheld device. Long before smart phones became commonplace, REALTORS® were using them to be more accessible to their clients.

REALTORS® were also early adopters of digital cameras. When you put your home up for sale, photos can be displayed with your listing. These photos can also be stitched together to create virtual tours for your listing. Since REALTORS® can access the Multiple Listing Service from anywhere in the world, even using a handheld device, laptop computers have become another staple in the REALTOR® toolkit. Laptops are convenient for reviewing prospective listings if you’re thinking of buying. If you’re planning to sell, your REALTOR® may also use one to take you through a comparative market analysis, a look at similar homes listed and sold in the area.

One of the most important elements in helping you achieve a purchase or sale is cooperation among REALTORS® in the profession. That’s why you may find many REALTOR® profiles on networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Many REALTORS® may also maintain a list of other REALTORS® in the community to whom your new property listing can be emailed. With your consent, your REALTOR® can automatically upload your property information to the Multiple Listing Service, a sophisticated database of sold, expired and active listings used only by REALTORS®. You may also choose to display it on public websites like REALTOR.ca (formerly MLS.ca), and those of your REALTOR®, their brokerage and other cooperating REALTORS®. The Elegant Homes Sites are now exceeding 20,000 hits per month and have a top google placement for Toronto West Homes.

Many REALTORS® maintain websites not only to display listings but also to keep clients up-to-date on market statistics and issues that affect local real estate. On these sites you may notice blogs, regularly updated journal entries, or podcasts or audio reports that can be downloaded. Some REALTOR® have also begun to share their expertise using Twitter. A networking site, it allows those who have established a profile to send brief text updates instantly to others who have signed up to follow them.

If you’re planning to buy a home, your REALTOR® may sign you up for prospect match, a service in which listings that match your criteria are automatically emailed to you each night. Be sure to also ask your REALTOR® about the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Buyer Registry Service (BRS). A password-protected database that contains information on the current housing preferences of REALTORS’ clients, the BRS can help your REALTOR® get early notification from other REALTORS® when properties matching your preferences become available.

When it comes time to make an offer, your REALTOR® can use the Multiple listing Service to generate market statistics that are specific to your area.To begin the transaction process, your REALTOR® can access forms that automatically populate all of the data pertinent to the purchase or sale. To keep things on track throughout every stage, your REALTOR® may use transaction management software and once the deal is done, you can count on your trusted advisor to stay in touch, through vehicles like email newsletters, using contact management software.

By using these and other tools REALTORS® can provide you with the most current information and the best advice, helping you to ensure that you don’t leave money on the table. To learn more about the many benefits of using a professional Realtor PING David Pylyp today!