Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “For every benefit you receive a tax is levied.”  How very true.

As municipalities across the Province struggle to establish budgets and tax rates, I can’t help but wonder how they ever arrive at a decision.  There are so many factors to consider and endless demands to entertain.  Councilors and staff need to consider reserves, debt ratios, debenture levels, user fees, development charges,  capital needs, infrastructure needs and future planning for capital repair IN ADDITION TO a long laundry list of ratepayers wants and needs.

When I read local blogs, letters to the editor or listen to conversations around town, there is a big disconnect in the public thinking about getting what you want but not wanting to pay for it.

Everyone is complaining about government spending.  Naturally, we all feel we are paying too much in property taxes and every time there is another expenditure approved, you can hear the howls of protest.  But at the very same time, you can watch the parade of people with hands out… more money for the animal shelter, hospital, CAS.  More fire fighters.  A roof over a rink or a second ice surface, a wellness centre, a new library, street repairs, free parking and more affordable housing.  Fix the sidewalks, plow the snow faster, build more trails. 

How is it that the very same people making monetary demands are often the very same people whinging about tax increases?  Don’t they get it?  This stuff costs money!

Every year, a consulting firm does a municipal comparison of tax rates for 81 municipalities in Ontario.  I found a copy of the complete study on the city of London website and if you take the time to actually scan through all 402 pages of this document, you might get a sense of just how complex taxation in Ontario proves to be.

You may be surprised to learn that Collingwood has the LOWEST relative tax burden for the Industrial class of all 81 municipalities surveyed.  You might not be surprised to learn that Wasaga Beach has one of the lowest relative tax burdens for residential taxes as a percent of household income.  Some other areas that caught my eye included the fact that Collingwood has average expenditures per capita ABOVE the average for fire and police services ( that is before the recent request to expand the number of firefighters) and, we have the HIGHEST expenditures per capita of all 81 municipalities for park operating costs.  The average is $40 per capita.  Wasaga Beach spends $45.00 and Collingwood spends $87.00.

My first reaction would be that I hope councilors read these reports before they make budget decisions.
My second reaction is that we spend too much on parks and, we tax industry too little.
My third thought is that perhaps this is all wrong.  Perhaps we spend more on policing and fire because we have a wider geographic area.  Perhaps we spend more on parks because we demand it to be so.  Perhaps having the lowest industrial tax rates helps in our economic development strategies and maybe that is why we are getting a big new industrial park.

The only thing I know for sure is that it must be incredibly challenging to set a municipal budget.  And I want my taxes to stop climbing.  And I want everything around town to be nothing short of perfect.

People who are moving to the Georgian Triangle area often ask about school information for the area. 

There are a wide range of choices in the public, separate and private sectors.  The first consideration is which County you will reside in.  Homes located in Grey County (including Blue Mountain, Meaford and Grey Highlands) fall under the Blue Water or Bruce-Grey District while properties in Simcoe County (including Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Stayner and Creemore) fall into the Simcoe District.

Below is a list of options with links to each school website.  As of September, 2010, full-day Kindergarten will also now be offered at Admiral Public School, Clearview Meadows and St. Mary’s.

For those interested in school ratings, two links are provided at the end of this list.  Regardless of what they say, I can tell you that families in each of these schools are fiercely proud and will tell you that theirs is the best!

SIMCOE COUNTY

School Boards:
Public:   Simcoe County District School Board 
Catholic:    Simcoe – Muskoka Catholic District School Board

Extended French Programs offered at the following schools:
Admiral Collingwood
Collingwood Collegiate Institute

Schools in Collingwood:
Admiral Collingwood Elementary School  K – 8
Cameron Street Public School K – 8
Connaught Public School  K – 8
Mountainview Public School  K – 8
St. Mary’s Catholic School  K – 8

Collingwood Collegiate Institute (CCI)  Gr.  9 – 12
Jean Vanier Catholic High School  Gr.  9 – 12

Georgian College

Nottawa:   Nottawa Elementary School  K – 8
Duntroon:   Duntroon Central Public School   JK – 8
Creemore:   Nottawasaga & Creemore Public School  JK – 8

Stayner:
Clearview Meadows Elementary School  K – 8
Byng Public School  K – 8

Stayner Collegiate Institute (SCI)  Gr. 9 – 12

Wasaga Beach

Birchview Dunes Elementary School  K – 8
Worsley Elementary School K- 8
St. Noel Chabanel Catholic School  JK – 8

GREY COUNTY

School Boards
Public:  Bluewater District School Board
Catholic:  Bruce – Grey Catholic District School Board

Extended French Programs offered at the following schools:
Meaford Community School
St. Vincent-Euphrasia Elementary School
Georgian Bay Secondary School

Schools in Thornbury:  Beaver Valley Community School  JK – 8

Meaford:
St. Vincent-Euphrasia Elementary School   JK-5
Meaford Community School  JK – 8

Georgian Bay Secondary School   Gr.  9 – 12

Maxwell:  Osprey Central School JK – 8

Flesherton:  Grey Highlands Secondary School  Gr.  9 – 12

Private Schools:
Clearview Montessori School  Pre-school through Gr. 6
National Ski Academy 
Pretty River Academy Pre-school to Gr. 12
Silvercrest Christian School  JK – 8
Rocklyn Academy Special Needs, Female, Secondary

Check School Ratings and Reports:
Fraser Institute School Performance Reports (Ontario)
Search EQAO School Reports and Test Results

Still in the spirit of wrapping up the 2008 statistics, here is a chart showing the change in the average sale prices between 2007 and 2008 by area within the Georgian Triangle.

Average sale prices can be skewed significantly by a few really high or low sales so they are not necessarily a fair representation of prices however, they do show the general trends by area.

Interestingly but not surprisingly, both Collingwood and Wasaga Beach registered an increase in values.  More rural areas such as Grey Highlands and Clearview showed the greatest declines.

Right now, we sure are seeing buyers being very reluctant to jump in despite great prices and mortgage rates.  Consumer confidence is not high but I have noticed a real uptick in showing activity over the last week.

Related Posts:

An Easier Way To Follow The Collingwood Real Estate Market
Just How Bad Is The Georgian Triangle Real Estate Marke Now?

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

After reviewing, crunching, tabulating and charting, I finally have a report to share on the 2008 Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board performance.  The Georgian Triangle area traditionally includes Collingwood, Blue Mountain, Wasaga Beach, Clearview, Grey Highlands and Meaford however, the data in some cases captures a wider area that includes towns on the edges of our typical trading area. 

It’s a tough undertaking to provide you with the fairest and most unbiased data because as Mark Twain once said, “Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.”  The outcomes change depending on the data used and variables like areas, types of properties, time frames and values all change the picture.  For this reason, I’ve used a variety of approaches and have provided data that you can interpret as you wish.

Three Important Points to Ponder: 
1. Our MLS® system uses average sale prices rather than median prices.  Neither is an exact science but when used comparatively, it gives us a general sense of trends only.  For example, the absence or presence of very low or very high-end sales can dramatically alter averages within small sampling groups.  In recent months, both TD and National Bank-Teranet have developed new way to measure house price indexes and the results showed dramatically different results from traditional measurements.  What they did show is that house prices have not declined as much as believed in Canada.
2. 2008 data is being compared only to 2007.  You should note that 2007 was a record sales year that represented the market peak.
3. The data on these charts is cumulative for the year and does not show trends.  For example, most of the decline in prices occurred in the final quarter of 2008.  That signals a new trend is underway.  (December and 3rd quarter only data to follow in a post coming to you soon.)

Nonetheless, we have what we have.  Below are data charts which you can click on to enlarge (‘cause who can read this little stuff?).

Summary
• Total sales activity has declined since May (not just the final quarter as believed)
• The total number of listings increased in every month of 2008 except for March
• The sales to listing ratio is firmly into the Buyer’s market zone.  This ratio is measured by dividing the number of properties sold by the number listed.  A ratio of under 40% suggests a Buyers market, 40-50% is a more balanced market and over 50% is typically considered to be a Sellers market.
• The 12 month average sale price for single family residential units in the major communities of the Georgian Triangle is down about 7.5% although Collingwood is actually up slightly.  If you exclude sales under $100,000 and over $1 million, the pictures changes substantially with the average sale price in 2008 down just 1.9% over 2007 using the same parameters.  In this case, the average sale prices are actually up in both Collingwood and Wasaga Beach.
• The average sale price of condos in the Georgian Triangle was up marginally for the year.
• There were 1634 active listings (all types) on the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board MLS® at years end.

All in all, this is not as gloomy a picture as the media has portrayed.  There has been more of a decline in the number of sales rather than price although, the trend is that prices are clearly moderating now.  Stay tuned for the 4th quarter report examining this trend closer.

All MLS® data and/or statistics obtained from the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board.

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

Wasaga Beach finally has a full-size bus service and already, people are embracing the new system.

Sharing the same name as the Whistler, BC system, the new bus is called The Wave.  Incidentally, Collingwood will promote it’s Colltrans service as “The Spirit.”  You know, “Catch The Wave” and “Catch The Spirit.”  (I’m going to shamelessly take credit for the Collingwood name as it’s something I suggested over a year ago.)

The bus has 18 seats plus two wheelchair spaces and two bike racks.  It will run 7 days a week from 7 am to 7 pm with a 50-60 minute complete loop.

The provincial government is contributing almost $20,000 through the gas tax program where two cents from every litre of gas sold is reinvested into municipal transit systems. 

Currently there are about 45 bus stops set up along the main arteries in town. Adults ride for $2, seniors, students and children ride for $1.50 and children under the age of five ride free (one way fares). The visually impaired (with a CNIB card) also ride free. Tickets can be purchased in books of 20 for a discount.

To view the routes, visit the Town website and scroll down to the transit link.

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

It won’t be a surprise to anyone to hear that the month of November was a dismal one in the real estate market.

While local MLS® listings for the month were only up slightly over 2007, sales were down exactly half over November of last year.  There were 82 sales in total of which 62 were residential sales.  Of those 62, only 53 were within our traditional Georgian Triangle Board area.  These included:

Collingwood  12 sales with an average sale price of $206,417
Wasaga Beach  16 sales with an average sale price of $225,719
Meaford    9 sales with an average sale price of $278,111
Clearview    7 sales with an average sale price of $209,071
Blue Mountains    5 sales with an average sale price of $360,400
Grey Highlands   4 sales with an average sale price of $274,403 

Most of the sales were priced between $150,000 and $250,000.  Averages have to be taken lightly since, with these low volumes, one high or low-end sale can quickly affect the averages.  The total dollar volume was down by 60% for the month compared to one year ago.

In the higher-end, sales were off again quite dramatically with no sales for the month over $800,000 and just 3 sales over $500,000.

Year-to-date, the total number of sales is down by just over 20% while the total number of listings is up by 9.5%.  The sales to listings ratio for the month was just 22.47% and is at about 30% YTD meaning that it is a strong buyers market in all areas now as less than a third of properties are selling at the present time.

There are presently 2065 active listings in our Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board MLS® system.  Sellers need to really sharpen their pencils and based on the large number of price reductions coming through each day, I’d say that is happening in most cases.  For buyers, there are some great deals to be had.

The other story here is that with this low number of sales, we are building up more pent-up demand than ever.  There are many people wanting to buy who are nervous about the market and are waiting for things to change.  Still others are waiting for their personal portfolios to improve and others, waiting to relocate into the area but having homes to sell elsewhere.  When the market recovers, and you bet it will, things may climb quicker than some expect.

All MLS® data and/or statistics obtained from the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board.

Related Posts:

Signs of the Real Estate Market Bottom 
Was Real Estate A Good Investment Ten Years Ago?

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

After endless bad news, I’ve noticed the media has been starting to report the odd bits of good news with respect to the Canadian real estate market.  In some areas of the GTA, sales and prices rose last month.  Across Canada, CMHC states that, after comparing month-over-month change in adjusted prices, the price trend is now beginning to rise again for the first time since the beginning of the year.

Here are highlights of our Georgian Triangle marketplace based on data collected through the MLS™ system of the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board:

•  Total number of new listings were down slightly in August but are up 8% YTD
• The number of residential sales in August were down 27% compared to the same month last year
• Number of residential sales YTD are down 13.4%
• YTD average sale price is down slightly compared to a year ago.

Looking at specific areas:

• Collingwood is on par in the number of sales with last year for the month and YTD and, the average sale price is up suggesting balanced market conditions exist in-town
• Clearview is down marginally over last year and has moved into a buyer’s market range
• Meaford sales are down by just 16 units YTD and this area continues to have the highest sales to list ratio, suggesting it is still balanced
• The Town of the Blue Mountains is down slightly YTD in number of units sold and pricing although almost on par with 2007
• Wasaga Beach had another tough month with 38 sales in August 08 compared to 57 in the same month last year with units sold down 24% YTD.  The sales to listing ratio is still at 39% and the 12 month average sale prices are also up slightly

Over-all, there are 2140 active listings in the MLS™ system as at months end.  The most active price range is from $150,000 to $250,000.  Sales over 1 million dollars are down 50% from last year with 8 such sales YTD compared to 16 by this time last year.

We should remember that 2007 was a record-breaking year and also, that new home sales are not captured in any of these statistics.  While it’s clear the run-up has ended, we are still seeing fairly balanced market conditions in most of the Georgian Triangle with moderate price increases.  Both Buyers and Sellers need to sharpen their pencils, be realistic and thoughtful in their decisions based on specific market data that should be provided by their REALTOR™.

Related Posts:

Housing Market Outlook Report Released

A Look At Real Estate Market Conditions in Collingwood & Blue Mountain

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When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

It’s hard to pick up a paper these days without reading a great deal of doom and gloom about the Canadian economy.  Plant closures, inflation, gas prices and real estate fill the pages and fear has finally hit the consumer.

There is a great deal of discussion about the “crash” in the real estate market but, is it true?  I myself had one of my best months in May and have been so busy I’ve hardly had time to check on the statistics until now.  So what is going on?

Statistics are easily manipulated and interpreted to suit the intent of the reader which really, is odd given that raw data is raw data.  Let me show you what I mean.

According to the statistics collected from our MLS® system by the Georgian Triangle Real Estate Board, sales for the month of May were down 21% compared to the same period last year.  Scary, huh?  But let’s look closer.

21% actually represented only 49 sales, in a huge area covering from Meaford to Wasaga Beach and everything in between.  Year-to-date, sales are down just 4%.  The total dollar value of the sales is on par with a year ago.

Then, I took a look at price bands.  Sales of properties priced from $200,000 to $600,000 are actually up.  Sales above and below this level are down except for those over one million dollars which are equal to last year.  Hmm, not so bad.

Then I looked at residential sales only eliminating commercial properties and the picture was very different.  Residentially, sales are down 2.3% year-to-date and the sales to listing ratio has dropped from 38% to 35%.  A drop for sure but hardly earth-shattering given that 2007 was the second highest sales year on record. And prices?

The average sale price was $286,000 at the end of May compared to $278,000 last year.

The number of residential sales in Clearview, Wasaga Beach and Meaford were down in the first five months. These were previously the most active markets so it’s not really a surprise.  What about Collingwood and the Blue Mountains you ask?  Sales levels were actually up.  Be careful of those statistics and remember what they are being compared too an inflated sales boom.

So, don’t panic.  Yes, I think the boom of hyper-inflating real estate prices has stopped but is that a bad thing?  I don’t think so.  Sellers will need to be more realistic in order to sell and buyers can take time to be more thoughtful.  The market has not crashed and while we are indeed going to weather adjustments for some time to come, the future continues to be bright for South Georgian Bay.

Related Posts:

South Georgian Bay Growth Continues in Record Numbers
Real Estate Prices Are Still Going Up
Should Economic Concerns Affect Your Real Estate Strategy?

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When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who is ready whenever you are!

Currently, the County of Simcoe is looking for public input on its proposed growth strategy.  The idea behind it is to have a “Made In Simcoe” plan to comply with the Province’s Places To Grow legislation.  Basically, it looks at how much growth we should have, where it should be located and what we need to do to accommodate that growth in a sustainable way.  As you can imagine, that is a mammoth undertaking.  In my personal opinion, the preliminary findings are headed in the wrong direction however, we’ll save politics for another arena.

What this process does is make us focus on growth issues in our own unique area here in South Georgian Bay.

Did you know that there are over 6200 residential units proposed or approved for development in Collingwood alone?  In addition, there are several other industrial, commercial and other types of development planned.

According to the last census, Collingwood had about 8100 households.  If all of the new units materialize, that would represent a 77% increase in the number of households.  Of further interest is that 60% of the proposed new units are to be condominium units and 40% single family homes.

In Wasaga Beach, there are over 80 development applications in some stage of process plus, proposed expansions to industrial and commercial lands.  In the Town of the Blue Mountains, there are over 5500 units on the books yet none of these come close to the over 8000 units under consideration in Clearview.

If all of these come to fruition, we will more than double our populations in the next 10-20 years. That means getting very serious about managing growth.  You probably hear things like “Integrated Community Sustainability Planning” that makes your eyes cross and your ears tune out but really, it is essential that we look hard and fast at this issue.  Anti-idling and pesticide free by-laws are a nice start but they are token steps compared to what we need to do.  Intensification, LEED building, preservation of heritage buildings, new grids, pedestrian orientations, source water protection, regional transit, alternative energies and shared resources are but a very few of the key areas we need to zero in on.

Most municipal websites have some information on proposed developments but you may have to wade through numerous committee minutes to find them.  Collingwood has a development map that shows all proposed developments.  If you are interested in viewing the one from December, 2007 you can find it here.

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Related Posts:

Places To Grow In Ontario
The Time Has Come To Build Green
Driving in South Georgian Bay Will Get Easier by 2010

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!

Do you remember riding the escalator in Woolworth’s in Collingwood?  Today in its place, you’ll find the Admiral Building which is home to a flagship LCBO along with other shops and services.  In the 19 years that I’ve been practicing real estate, just about everything has changed.

Way back then, we typed offers using carbon paper for copies and white-out to make corrections.  Our daily MLS® data came from paper spewed out from a little ticker-type box.  We’d copy, cut and paste listings and pop them in the mail to be received a week or so later by our out-of-area clients.  Actually, we didn’t really have Buyer clients in those days.  Our job was to almost always represent Sellers since Buyer Agency was unheard of.  Offers were usually presented in person as we drove hours to see people because faxed contracts were not yet legal.  Few REALTORS® had computers let alone email, voice mail, cell phones or Blackberrys.  Very few had assistants or home offices and the mandatory continuing education requirements of today didn’t exist.

Insurance companies didn’t worry about oil tanks or 60 amp electrical services as they do today.  GST didn’t exist!  Mortgage interest rates were double digits and everyone needed at least 10% down to buy a property.  Privacy legislation hadn’t been introduced, grow houses didn’t exist and we didn’t yet have any idea of what a prolonged recession could actually do to real estate prices.

19 years ago, Collingwood had not annexed part of Nottawasaga, Clearview Township didn’t exist and Meaford was just a town.  Almost all condominiums in the area were in Cranberry Village and Lighthouse Point hadn’t been built.  The Niagara Escarpment and the Conservation Authorities had a whole different set of rules and since then, every municipality has changed its Official Plans and zoning by-laws more than twice.  There was no Village at Blue and the concept of luxury real estate was not even a notion in this area.

Today, the delivery of real estate information is as quick as the click of a mouse and listings or offers can be sent by email.  Buyers can instantly search MLS® listings online  and homes for sale are often showcased with virtual tours.  Real estate consumers are better protected than ever by changes in legislation and by improved education for REALTORS®.  Interest rates are under 6% and you can buy a house with no money down.  Choices abound with numerous opportunities to buy condominiums, single family homes or luxury custom homes in prestige neighbourhoods.  There are land-lease and fractional ownership developments and, recreational investment options.

Today, South Georgian Bay is a different place.  We can grab a coffee at Espresso Post or Starbucks and alternative libations at Zencha tea bar.  We can golf on a world class course or spend a day at an exclusive spa.  There are numerous exquisite choices for fine dining and blessedly, a choice of chocolate and candy shops.  There are clubs for networking, learning and lectures, outstanding local theatre and a thriving arts community.  You can get the inside scoop by reading local blogs and websites.

Is change a good thing?  In the case of real estate and South Georgian Bay, I’d have to say a resounding yes.  It’s been a helluva ride and I can’t help but wonder what the next nineteen years will bring.

When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!