Gary O`Brien - From Orangeville to Mississauga - On The Road Again: Ontario

Like a scene from a postcard.  Idyllic setting in the Pine River Valley.  If apres-ski is your thing, you'll just love coming home after a day on the slopes of nearby Mansfield, Collingwood, or Hockley Valley.  Located on prestigious River Road near Hornings Mills, this wonderful home ( & Guest Cabin) has much to offer as either a great weekend spot, full-time residence, or as a studio/retreat.  Area amenities include skiing, golf, hiking, and fishing.  You'll also find many other leisurely pursuits such as a great selection of restaurants, the Dufferin Museum, the Creemore shoppes, markets, & auctions, the Bruce Trail, and a vibrant arts community with numerous studios dotted throughout the Headwaters region.  Or you can just hang around and simply enjoy the views overlooking the grounds and the pond.  Charming & eclectic bungalow with numerous updates over the years including a steel roof, windows, both baths, hydro, gas fireplace and more.  Other newer notable features include the garage, Guest Cabin, UV system, and enclosed front entry.  More pics & details on my website at www.Gary-OBrien.com.

Just sitting here at Starbucks, enjoying a little downtime between appointments, and thinking "how cool is this - messing around with this little netbook, catching up on emails, checking out different websites."  It doesn't seem that long ago when I'd sooner drive from Orangeville to pick up an offer in Toronto, than to try and figure out an antiquated facsimile machine that would invariably leave a big black line down the middle of each curled up page.  Now I'm texting with my left thumb and typing with a couple of fingers on my right, all the while navigating the streets of Toronto.  Well, not literally 'cause that's illegal don't ya know.  I'm actually cruising around on Google Street View. 

What a great tool for realtors - to help familiarize us with different neighbourhoods before we head out to show properties.  No longer will we have to bluff our way around the neighbourhood (ok - well maybe just us guys).  No more walking into the wrong house - oh yeah, I've done it.  It's also a great tool for you buyers as you'll be able to preview different areas on-line before hopping in the car to drive by that dream home - the one that happens to be located next to the wrecking yard?  (Maybe next time you'll believe me and I won't have to say I told you so.)

Generally speaking, I think they've done a pretty good job with this in the larger centres such as Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, etc., but nothing yet in the outlying areas around Georgetown, Orangeville, or Shelburne.  Hopefully they'll eventually get around to doing the backroads where it would really come in handy.  Can't wait for the 3D version.  Smile.

Now that the GTA and outlying urban centres are faced with having to evolve their development practices from the standard fare of urban sprawl into a more intense focus on densification, a tremendous opportunity is at hand for these centres to recreate themselves as models of creative and exciting architecture - and to do so using the latest green technology.  Cities like Markham and Mississauga are creating entire new downtown communities from what was once just farmers fields.  Brampton is doing it's best to redevelop it's downtown with new highrise condos.  Orangeville, which already has a charming downtown, will soon be forced to grow up instead of out.  Halton Region has proposed a reduction in the amount of land available to builders which will force Georgetown to reshape it's skyline.  What a great time for these centres to take the lead on environmentally conscious development by insisting builders incorporate more eco-friendly technologies into their condos and houses.  How about more use of solar panels on the sides and tops of buildings, rain collection systems, green roofs, hydro outlets for electric cars, well - you get the idea.  Of course, there are buildings that do adhere to green principals, but they are still a rarity.  That a building is green shouldn't be trumpeted with news releases and press coverage - it should be the norm.  Whether by necessity or social conscience, the environment is inevitably going to play a larger and larger role in any future development, rendering much of today's construction obsolete - so why not start now. 

The day of the 5% down mortgage may soon be coming to an end according to the attached Globe & Mail article.  Ditto for the 35 year amortization.  The government has been musing about different means by which to cool down the housing market and the aforementioned may be the tools they use to accomplish their objectives.  While the plan may work in the long-term, I see chaos in the short-term as anyone looking to buy using a 5% down/35yr plan is going to have to move quickly.  Given the limited supply of starter homes in our area, be it Mississauga, Brampton, Orangeville, Shelburne, et al, this could lead to a shortage of suitable housing, thereby putting upward pressure on Peel & Dufferin area real estate prices.  Long-term, the proposal may potentially remove a huge segment of the home-buying public from the market.  Another discussed remedy to rising house prices may be an increase in interest rates, which has been bandied about by the powers that be.  At the moment it's just talk but you can probably consider it a trial balloon to determine which course of action to take, and how to spin it when they do.  To read the article, click here; http://bit.ly/6ikwGe.

As a kid I used to love watching "The Jetsons" and imagined that's what it would be like in the year 2000 - everything you wanted at your fingertips.  Push a button - dinner's ready & your martini is poured.  Video phones that catch you off-guard.  Landing your car on the roof.   Well, we're not quite there yet, but we are getting close.  I just finished reading an interesting article by Pedro Arrais of the Victoria Times Colonist.  Entitled "New Technologies Let Older Homes Become Smarter", it offers suggestions on how wireless technology is creating more affordable upgrade solutions.  The beauty is, although you still can't land your car on the roof, you do have more options now and are not limited to buying a newer home solely to take advantage of today's technology.  You can read the entire article by clicking on the following Twitter posting; http://bit.ly/8bCCq7.