The “Starbucks Effect” may sound like a medical term related to caffeinated beverage addiction, but you won’t find the term in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Rather, several articles have taken this parlance to describe the phenomena of how a Starbucks store opening increases home and property values. Can the entry of a hip coffee shop predict housing prices? It's something a lot of...

Growing cities, losing affordable housing at alarming rates. Ever since a Request For Proposals process selected Capital Developments and Metropia to redevelop a 7.3-acre Toronto District School Board property at Bloor and Dufferin, a high-density rebuild of the site was expected. After community feedback and following two versions of the plan, the developers have returned, revising the proposed...

Thirty per cent of households with children in Toronto live in mid- or highrise buildings. Downtown it’s 66 per cent. In fact, the number of families with children and teens living in highrise buildings grew by 10,000 or 15 per cent between 2006 and 2011. Yet the average size of a re-sale condo has dropped 20 per cent —1,087 sq. ft. to about 885 sq. ft. between 1996 and 2014. The city of Toronto has...

Spotting these future hot neighbourhoods takes long-term vision. Whether you’re a young professional, smart-sizer or an expanding family, there’s something for everyone in an evolving area. Here are 5 signals you can use to identify an up-and-coming neighbourhood:   1. Major Renovations or New Builds are Underway. You can see this change in a variety of ways: • Smaller homes...

Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (ECLRT), commonly referred to as Crosstown, is a 19km light rail transit (LRT) line being constructed from Kennedy Station to Mount Dennis (Weston Road) in Toronto, Canada. Approximately 10km of the line will be located underground and up to 25 stations will be built along the stretch. Expected for completion in 2021, the new Crosstown LRT is aimed at getting you...