Markham Real Estate Today with Asif Khan

By David Fleischer|Aug 08, 2011 - 12:29 PM

Housing remains hot

Sales continued to spike in July with the GTA housing market recording 23 per cent more sales than the same month last year.

Nearly 8,000 homes sold across the GTA last month, about 1,600 of them in York Region, up 35 per cent from July 2010, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board’s latest numbers.

While the average price of a home in the board’s territory now sits just less than $460,000, it’s even higher in York Region, at $542,000, up more than 10 per cent from a year ago.

Last year’s slowdown was attributed to higher mortgage rates, new lending roles and misconceptions about the impact of the new HST, board president Richard Silver said.
“If the current pace of sales holds up, we could see the second best year on record under the current TREB market area,” he said.
A tight market has been a driving force, but listings are starting to loosen up, board senior manager of marketing analysis Jason Mercer said. That should lead to a slowing in the rate of price growth.

Here’s a closer look.
• Not surprisingly, most home sales are in the region’s south. Markham saw more than 400 sales, while 391 homes changed hands in Richmond Hill and an even 300 in Vaughan.
• Nearly 60 per cent of all regional sales were detached homes, with an average price of $646,755. Only East Gwillimbury, Georgina and Newmarket had average prices below $500,000.
• Condominium apartments accounted for more than 10 per cent of all sales in the region in  July, with an average price just under $310,000. Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham each posted 55 or more sales.
• Every York Region municipality except East Gwillimbury saw sales up substantially compared to July 2010. Sales were up at least 20 per cent in every other municipality, including a 98 per cent increase in Whitchurch-Stouffville and a 67 per cent increase in Aurora.
• The picture changes somewhat when you look at the year-to-date numbers, however. Overall sales are up 5 per cent, but only Aurora, Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville are posting higher numbers than they did in 2010.
• So far this year, York Region homes are selling in an average 23 days. Markham homes have averaged 19 days on the market, while Richmond Hill homes averaged 20. At the other end of the spectrum, it’s taking an average 55 days to sell a home in King.
• More than 17,000 homes have gone on the market in York Region since Jan. 1. More than half of those are in Markham and Richmond Hill.

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Sun Aug. 07 2011 9:10:12 AM | The Canadian Press   TORONTO — The Toronto stock market could be in for more stomach-churning volatility this week as investors weigh whether the U.S. is slipping towards another recession and try to regain a commodity that went AWOL from markets last week: confidence. It practically evaporated last week as the European debt crisis worsened with Italy's borrowing costs surging, highlighting just how vulnerable the eurozone is and how insufficient its anti-crisis measures are. And then on Friday night, Standard & Poor's said it is downgrading the United States' credit rating in an unprecedented move. It said it's cutting the country's top AAA rating by one notch to AA-plus. S&P said it is making the move because the deficit reduction plan passed by Congress earlier in the week did not go far enough to stabilize the country's debt situation. The bitter, partisan wrangling over raising the U.S. debt ceiling had already taken a toll on investor sentiment as U.S. lawmakers came to an agreement that nobody seemed to really like just before an Aug. 2 deadline expired. "I just think what happened here is the fiasco in Washington last week got the ball rolling, got people nervous and selling and it's fed on itself," said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. "They unleashed a series of events that is beyond what they can control now." But 11th hour rescues, such as the debt ceiling agreement and the announcement of a second bailout for Greece at the end of July that didn't solve anything in the long term have stretched investor patience to the breaking point. And other analysts suggest that is another reason why investors have chosen to sell off in this market. "We think at the end of the day that people always will do what's necessary to fix things," said Andrew Pyle, investment adviser with ScotiaMcLeod in Peterborough, Ont. The TSX had a dreadful week, losing 783 points or six per cent, despite an American employment report on Friday showing a better than expected 117,000 jobs were created during July. The showing left the TSX down almost 10 per cent this year -- a loss of many tens of billions of dollars of market value. But this isn't a time for panic and Pyle cautioned investors against drawing parallels with the fall of 2008 when stock markets plunged thousands of points. For one thing, he pointed out that we aren't in a credit crisis partly triggered by the fall of investment bank Lehman Bros. Pyle pointed out that "corporations in the U.S. are sitting on $2 trillion in cash and if anyone goes to the market today with a bond issue, it gets lapped up. There's plenty of demand out there for commercial paper (short term, unsecured debt instruments issued by corporations), where in 2007, you wouldn't touch paper." And as with many negative stories, there is a positive side to the extreme volatility seen in markets recently. A big reason why investor fear over the U.S. economy increased was poor economic performance in the first half of the year, in what was originally thought to be a soft patch for the economy. Poor growth numbers were caused in large part by a tremendous surge in oil and gasoline prices when unrest was spreading across the Mideast in February and March. Oil rose almost to the US$115 level in short order. But now those prices are retreating quickly, with crude down to around US$85 at the end of last week. "So that drain on household budgets fades, and gasoline prices are fading too, and lo and behold mortgage rates in the US dropped to eight month lows again," said Pyle. "So if we have those two things happening going into the end of the third quarter, is that enough to rejuvenate demand?" After a two week run of big losses, investors can only hope that the jobs report from Friday provides a reason to at least take a paused and regroup. "It's a big feat in itself just to get somebody to step back and think about this and what we saw last week was more of a panic based unloading of risk," he said. "It was almost like, what they told me back in the spring was right, this market is going to fall and I'm just going to sell into it. So, first things first, you have to get individuals to step back just to even think about this let alone entertain the fact of getting back in." Asif Khan, ABR Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc.   www.asifkhan.ca www.teamkhan.net

TOP NEWS
World leaders confer on debt crises this weekend
Sat, Aug 06 19:18 PM EDT

By Paul Taylor and Stella Dawson

PARIS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global leaders on Saturday arranged a round of emergency calls to discuss the twin debt crises in Europe and the United States that are causing turmoil in financial markets.

After a week that saw $2.5 trillion wiped off global stock markets, they are under pressure to show political leadership and reassure markets that Western governments have both the will and ability to reduce their huge and growing public debt loads.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who chairs the G7/G20 group of leading economies, conferred with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of a call planned for this weekend by G7 finance ministers and central bankers.

"They discussed the euro area and the U.S. debt downgrade. Both agreed the importance of working together, monitoring the situation closely and keeping in contact over the coming days," a spokesman for Cameron said.

Standard and Poor's deepened the urgency for action late on Friday by stripping the United States of its top-tier AAA credit rating, a move that over time could ripple through markets worldwide by pushing up borrowing costs and making it more difficult to secure a lasting recovery.

It cited the acrimonious debate in Washington on raising the debt ceiling and near political paralysis over the best way to reduce the its $14.3 trillion debt, which on the current trajectory could climb above 100 percent of U.S. national output this decade.

President Barack Obama called on lawmakers once again on Saturday to set aside partisan politics and work together and to put the nation's fiscal house in order and stimulate the stagnant economy.

But the most immediate concern for financial markets was the debt crisis in the euro zone, where yields on Italian and Spanish debt have soared to 14-year highs on political wrangling and doubts over the vigor of budget cuts.

The European Central Bank was scheduled to hold a rare Sunday conference call. Markets are anxiously looking for the central bank to start buying Italian and Spanish debt on Monday to stabilize prices, a move that has split the ECB governing council.

Investors saw the ECB's failure to include Italy and Spain in a relaunch of its bond purchases late last week as a sign of the depth of political divisions over the role of the euro zone currency. German officials want to see stiffer austerity programs in place before the ECB would shoulder more Italian and Spanish debt. The danger is that further pressure on Italian and Spanish bonds could undermine an already damaged European banking system and lock Italy, the world's eighth largest economy, out of the market.

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his government weakened by infighting, ruled out early elections to stem market panic. "This has never been an option," Berlusconi said. Instead he has pledged to bring forward austerity measures and balance the budget by 2013, a year ahead of schedule -- steps the ECB will consider to gauge whether to buy its bonds.

S&P's one-notch downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating to AA-plus, while not totally unexpected, adds another level of uncertainty. Loss of gold-plated status for the world's benchmark interest rate risks pushing up borrowing costs on everything from car loans, mortgages and corporate debt to government bonds worldwide.

"However justified, S&P couldn't have picked a worse time to downgrade the U.S.," said Rabobank in a note to clients.

A senior European diplomatic source said the U.S. downgrade, coupled with Europe's problems, raised the need for international policy coordination. G7 finance ministers and central bankers of the major industrialized nations were to hold talks by telephone on either Saturday or Sunday, the source said. Their deputies from the broader G20 were due to hold a call on Saturday evening, a Brazilian finance ministry source said.

A U.K. official said "senior officials" also would talk late on Saturday. There was no indication of whether a statement would be issued by G7 or G20 policymakers, the usual method by which they lay out policy steps designed to soothe markets or provide them with direction.

DEBT ADDICTION

China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, took the world's economic superpower to task for allowing its fiscal house to get into such disarray. It also revived its calls for a new stable global reserve currency to replace the U.S. dollar, gaining a sympathetic ear in the United Kingdom.

"The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone," China's official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary.

Xinhua scorned the United States for a "debt addiction" and "short sighted" political wrangling. China, it said, "has every right now to demand the United States address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets."

China and Japan have called for coordinated action to avert a new worldwide financial crisis. India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters: "There is no need to unnecessarily press the panic button."

Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager said: "I am in constant contact with colleagues in other countries and am following the development of the financial markets closely."

Recrimination flew thick and fast among U.S. politicians over its debt downgrade, with each side seeking to blame the other for the impasse over how to solve the fiscal crisis.

Senator Jim Demint, a Republican, said Obama should demand the resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

In contrast, French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said France had faith in the United States to get out of this "difficult period." Friday's U.S. unemployment numbers were better than expected and so things were heading in the right direction, he said.

"One should not dramatize, one needs to remain cool-headed, one should look at the fundamentals," he told France's iTele.

"There is no need for panic," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. "We will see in August, and maybe more intensively in September what the effects for the world economy will be."

(Additional reporting by Isabel Versiani and Brian Winter in Brasilia, Laura MacInnis in Washington, and other Reuters bureaux worldwide; Writing by Angus MacSwan and Stella Dawson; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Asif Khan, ABR
Member of Re/Max Hall of Fame
Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc., Brokerage
905-888-6222

Via 680News:

TORONTO, Ont. - Today marks the first day of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and a special time when participating Muslims fast during daylight hours.

To mark the first day of Ramadan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement to all Canadians observing the holy period.

"Today marks the beginning of Ramadan, a time of spiritual commitment, devotion and self-sacrifice for people of the Muslim faith," Harper said. "During this sacred holy month, Muslims in Canada and around the world fast from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from food, drink and other daily routines with a view to strengthening their faith through reflection, humility and patience."

The word "Ramadan" is derived from an Arabic word for intense heat or scorched ground and shortness of food and drink.

"(Ramadan) is also a special time when Muslims gather with family and friends, sharing meals and providing support to those less fortunate," Harper said. "Laureen and I wish Canadians observing Ramadan a blessed month and peace and happiness throughout the year."

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Via @680News
Josh Ungar
Jul 29, 2011 14:34:55 PM

As the Obama administration's early August debt-deadline continues to approach, it has become near impossible to ignore all the coverage and chatter about the looming U.S. debt crisis. Headlines have been dominated by the constantly shifting story, while those with interests in the stock market have been nervously monitoring their assets.

Doomsayers have called it potentially one of the largest financial crisis in history, while lawmakers have insisted the American government, with the "too big to fail" mentality, will not default. But amidst all the financial and political talk, the very basics of the issue can often be lost.

History

To understand what the debt crisis means, it's important to understand where the problem actually started. The debt crisis in the U.S. certainly didn't happen overnight. The American government has been building up a debt since before 1980 and the Ronald Reagan years. Deficit spending from several American wars overseas and economic downturns have all contributed to the growing debt.

Since then, the Gulf War, tax cuts and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have helped push the American government further into debt. With the debt now approaching $14.3-trillion, the Americans have reached what is known as their "debt ceiling." In other words, the government has pushed its debt as far as current legislation will allow.

So what does all this mean?

Most pres singly, the American government is in danger of running out of money, meaning they will no longer be able to pay their social obligations. This includes funding for Medicare, Social Services and defence services.

There is debate about when this will actually happen. The Obama administration says they will run out of money by Aug. 3, while other estimates peg the date closer to Aug. 10. Essentially, when these dates come to pass, the American treasury will no longer have the money to pay its bills without borrowing more cash.

This means the Americans will have to default on their payments, damaging their "AAA" credit rating in international markets. It also means interest rates are likely to rise nationwide. A secondary effect of course will be on the markets, where losses in the U.S. have the potential to spread internationally.

So who does the American government borrow all this cash from?

The money comes from all over, including some from the American public who own pension and mutual funds. A lot of the money has been borrowed from China, Japan and other foreign nations.

Some of the debt is also held within the federal reserve system, which includes collateral for U.S. cash.

So what's next?

This is not the first time the U.S. has to had increase their debt ceiling. Congress has raised or altered the definition of the debt limit a total of 78 times since 1960.

It's likely the American government will compromise and move to raise the debt ceiling, therefore preventing the country's first ever default. At that point it will be up to the government to come up with reduced spending plans and find a way to begin tackling the debt.

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Asif Khan, ABR
Member of Re/Max Hall of Fame
Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc., Brokerage
905-888-6222

July 28, 2011

There seems to be a battle brewing over Maple Leaf Gardens' name. A CTV.ca report, below, details the fight over the historic building's name as MLSE has filed a court injunction against the owners to prevent them from using the iconic name associated with the property. Reason? Money of course. Yes, money! The "$", the iconic symbol that has become associated with MLSE over approximately the same period of time that the Leafs have been absent from Maple Leaf Gardens.

MLSE is worried that by continuing to call it Maple Leaf Gardens the 2,500 seat facility will "compete with Air Canada Centre" for money-making concerts, events, etc. Lost in all this craziness is the fact that there is no mention that MLSE may be concerned with Ryerson's hockey team possibly being better than our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. Furthermore, the Ryerson team could potentially post the best winning percentage at Maple Leaf Gardens when compared to the Leafs, Raptors, Toros, and Marlboroughs.
MLSE's stance on this is beyond ridiculous, however when you look at how it handles its sports operations with the Leafs, Raptors, FC, and Marlies, it is quite clear that their business is money. In the end, I do believe MLSE will allow Ryerson and Loblaw to continue to call the historic building by it's proper name. What MLSE wants out of this is probably just money. At the end of the day Loblaw will shell out some coin to obtain the name from MLSE and MLSE will be regarded as the heroes for allowing the name to continue. A better story would be for Loblaw to purchase the Leafs from MLSE, and bring a real winner to the fans of Toronto. The championship-starved city will celebrate multiple Stanley Cup victories at President's Choice Arena - formally known as the Air Canada Centre. Oh, but that's just a dream right now. Until then, the MLSE cash-grab nightmares continue.

CTV story attached:

ctvtoronto.ca

A battle is brewing over the name of an iconic downtown hockey rink and whether its new owner can keep using the name.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment filed a court injunction against Ryerson University and building co-owner Loblaw Properties in a bid to prevent the university from naming its new sports complex Maple Leaf Gardens.

Ryerson is currently converting the Maple Leaf Gardens, at the corner of College and Church Streets, into a home for its own team.

The arena is being retrofitted to house an NHL-sized hockey arena, an athletic centre and a basketball court, as well as a Loblaw grocery store on the ground level. Loblaw Properties purchased the building in 2004 and partnered with Ryerson five years later.

The NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs played there from 1931 until 1999, at which time they moved to the Air Canada Centre, a massive arena owned by MLSE.

According to the Globe and Mail, MLSE is asking an Ontario court to stop Ryerson from using the iconic name in connection with the facility when it opens later this year.

In court filings, MLSE said it is worried the 2,500 seat venue will compete with the Air Canada Centre for money-making concerts and other events, and that retaining the name Maple Leafs Gardens is trademark infringement.

However, acting Ryerson president Julia Hanigsberg told CTV.ca that the university has been more focused on getting the building ready for students and not so much on its name.

"To us, it's the Ryerson University Athletic and Recreation Centre," she said.

Hanigsberg said she believes a speedy resolution can be reached with MLSE and that she believes the corporation is willing to sit down with the university.

She said she also understands that the name carries a storied history.

"There's a huge emotional attachment for Torontonians and people across the country [to the name]," she said. "Ultimately, people will call it what they will call it."

MLSE has not yet returned calls from CTV.ca seeking comment.

Asif Khan, ABR
Member of Re/Max Hall of Fame
Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc., Brokerage
905-888-6222

Tue Jul 19, 09:21 AM

Bank of Canada leaves interest rate unchanged
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada left its key overnight interest rate unchanged at one per cent Tuesday, as it said the influential U.S. economy has grown at a slower pace than expected.

However, the central bank noted that as the Canadian economy continues to grow, it will have to move to raise rates to keep inflation in check.

"To the extent that the expansion continues and the current material excess supply in the economy is gradually absorbed, some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place will be withdrawn, consistent with achieving the two per cent inflation target," the Bank of Canada said.

"Such reduction would need to be carefully considered."

The latest statement compared with the bank's May rate announcement that said "some of the considerable monetary policy stimulus currently in place will be eventually withdrawn."

Economists had widely expected the bank to leave rates unchanged -- Canadian economic growth slowed in the second quarter, but the bank said it expects the economy to begin accelerating in the second half of the year.

Overall, the Bank of Canada expects the economy will expand by 2.8 per cent in 2011, compared with its call in April for 2.9 per cent growth. The outlook for 2012 and 2013 was unchanged at 2.6 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively.

A full update on the central bank's outlook for the economy and inflation is expected when the Bank of Canada publishes its monetary policy report on Wednesday.

The latest rate decision comes amid a growing credit crisis in Europe and fiscal gridlock and sluggish economic growth in the United States, Canada's largest trading partner.

"The U.S. economy has grown at a slower pace than expected and continues to be restrained by the consolidation of household balance sheets and slow growth in employment," the central bank said.

"While growth in core Europe has been stronger than expected, necessary fiscal austerity measures in a number of countries will restrain growth over the projection horizon."

The central bank said its outlook assumes that authorities will be able to contain the European sovereign debt crisis, "although there are clear risks around this outcome."

As Europe and the United States continue to put up warning signs, the Canadian economy has appeared to be on track with three consecutive months of job growth and signs of inflation.

The Bank of Canada's latest business outlook survey found corporate Canada in a generally upbeat mood and looking to hire with 57 per cent of the firms surveyed expected to hire new workers over the next year compared with just four per cent of firms that expected to have fewer employees over the next 12 months.

Statistics Canada reported a net gain of 28,000 jobs for June, a stark contrast to a disappointing report of only 18,000 jobs added in the United States.

Canada's annual inflation rate also jumped to the highest level in eight years in May hitting 3.7 per cent on big increases in the price of gasoline. Core inflation -- which excludes volatile items like energy and some kinds of food -- increased to 1.8 per cent.

"Total CPI inflation is expected to remain above three per cent in the near term, largely reflecting temporary factors such as significantly higher food and energy prices. Core inflation is slightly firmer than anticipated, owing to temporary factors and to more persistent strength in the prices of some services," the Bank of Canada said.

"Core inflation is now expected to remain around two per cent over the projection horizon."

Statistics Canada is expected to report June inflation numbers on Friday.

The bank's overnight target rate affects the prime lending rate at Canada's big banks and in turn the rates for variable rate mortgages and lines of credit.

The Bank of Canada's next scheduled rate announcement is set for Sept. 7.

(Photo Credit: Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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It begins again.  The Competition Bureau has once again attacked the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) in yet another attempt to hijack its prized Multiple Listing System (MLS) .  In an efforts to sway public opinion to their side, the Competiton Bureau continues to tug at the consumers' heart strings by stating that TREB is preventing or impeding the entry of innovative business models and imposing restrictions on real estate brokers who wish to use the Internet to more efficiently serve home buyers and sellers.  The Bureau goes farther in it's attempt to garner public support by making promises of lower fee structures on the horizon.  The allegations in the "Amended Notice Of Application" are comical at best.  The Bureau has come out and demanded that TREB break Federal laws and allow the private information of their clients and customers to be available to anyone and everyone on-line.  This would be a dream come true for fraudsters, who undoubtedly are looking on with anticipation of better days ahead for their "businesses".  The Bureau alledges that TREB gives greater information to members that operate from "bricks and mortar" offices than it does those that operate from virtual office websites - "VOW".  How absurd is that statement alone?  Each member has the same access to the same information regardless of the type of office structure they belong to. The key to receiving the benefits of membership, is to being a member. As for what is allowed to be published to the general public, Federal Privacy Laws dictate that, not TREB nor any other Board.  In discussing this issue with many consumers, the issues obviously have not been made clear.  A smoke-screen of "lower fees" is being raised and the real allegations are lost.  Let's expose some of the allegations from the Bureau's application.  The following are some of TREB's Rules and Policies that the Competition Bureau has a problem with as per their application to the Competition Tribunal.  The statements from the Bureau's Application are in blue, followed by my interpretation in red: 25. To become a member of TREB and have access to the TREB MLS system, a broker must agree :to be bound by TREB’s By-Laws and TREB’s MLS Rules and Policies and must execute an Authorized User Agreement (“AUA”). The terms of these rules, policies and agreements, as imposed and interpreted by TREB, are referred to in this Application as the "TREB MLS Restrictions". In essence, the Bureau is stating that the very rules and regulations that TREB members must adhere to are "Restrictions" for non-members.  Members that go through the necessary educational courses, pay fees associated with membership, obtain insurance to work in the industry, take an oath to protect the integrity of the industry and the privacy of their clients as part of their fiduciary duites, and follow the rules and regulations imposed by the governing body are said to be "restricting" others that do not comply with the above from entering into this exclusive membership.  If you're a member at a golf club and refuse to follow the dress code alone, you will be refused membership.  Why is this even a concern with TREB membership?    26. TREB members are bound by TREB’s MLS Rules and Policies, which include the following provisions: RULES R-101 Use of the MLS® System is subject to the provisions of the Authorized User Agreement as amended, restated or replaced from time to time. This is a standard rule for any progressive membership organization, corporation, club or even credit card issuer.  Enough said!   RULE 400 - ADVERTISING R-430 Members other than the Listing Brokerage may advertise an MLS® Listing only when an MLS® Listing Agreement so indicates and Members have received specific written permission from the Listing Brokerage prior to each occasion of advertising. The Listing Agreement allows for a seller to authorize members to advertise their property.  Often the property listing details upgraded features, makes and models of appliances, and contains pictures of the furnished home showing valuable decorations and electronics that may be in place.  In order to maintain the sellers' privacy and protect their belongings as best we can, the ability to control where and when the property is advertised should remain in the control of the seller/sellers' agent.    R-431 Members shall not use any marketing materials prepared by or created for another Member, including but not limited to, photographs, floor plans, virtual tours, personal marketing materials or feature sheets without the written consent of that Member who created or purchased the material. In any other industry, materials created by another individual/company remain the property of the company/individual and are protected by Copyright Laws.  The Competition Bureau would like TREB to break Copyright Laws and allow the use of any materials created by a member to be made available to everyone without the consent of the Member that invested the money and effort to create the same.    POLICIES RULE 500 – TREB COMPUTER SYSTEM P-501 Any Member wishing to obtain access to any MLS® data (whether for office use or individual use by a Broker or Salesperson registered with a Brokerage) shall enter into an MLS® Access Agreement, or such other agreement as TREB may require from time to time. The Competiton Bureau has a problem with TREB having an Access Agreement to allow members to use their own MLS System.    P-508 TREB in its sole discretion, may terminate or suspend a Member's user name and Password code in the event of any unauthorized or improper use of the MLS® Online system. The Competiton Bureau is questioning TREB's right to terminate or suspend a Member from using the MLS System if they are found guilty of fraudulent or improper use of the system.  Buyers and Sellers should be very afraid of their personal information getting in the wrong hands.  The ability of TREB to monitor and control access to the classified information that our clients trust us with plays an integral part in the safety of our clients and their families.   27. Further, each member of TREB must agree to the following material terms of AUA: (a) In section 2, TREB grants a broker member a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use the TREB MLS system; (b) In section 2, the broker must unconditionally agree to access and use the MLS system "for the exclusive and internal use" by the broker; (c) In section 3, the broker may make "Copies" of the information in the MLS system but such Copies are limited to paper printouts and electronic copies of reports "generated from" the MLS system; (d) In section 4, brokers acknowledge that the MLS Database (as defined in the AUA) has special value "due to access only by TREB members and users authorized by TREB"; (e) In section 4(c), the MLS Database is considered to be confidential property of TREB and requires that the user “not circulate or copy ... the MLS database ... in any manner except to authorized users… and except to persons or entities who desire or may desire to acquire or dispose of certain of their rights respecting real estate”; (f) Section 4(d) prohibits members from using, copying, reproducing, or exploiting the database for the purposes of “creating, maintaining or marketing, or aiding in the creation, maintenance or marketing, of any MLS database ... which is competitive with the MLS database ... or which is contrary to the By-Laws, the MLS Rules and the MLS Policies …” By wanting to see a change in this rule, the Competition Bureau is asking TREB to break Federal Privacy Laws set out by the Privacy Commission.  This battle should be between the Privacy Commision and the Competiton Bureau.  TREB seems to be caught in the crossfire as two arms of the government can't seem to decide on what is considered to be private information vs. public information.   28. TREB’s MLS Rules and Policies (as outlined in paragraphs 25-27), on their face, and as interpreted, applied, and enforced by TREB, prevent brokers from offering innovative, Internet based services such as VOWs to their customers. Arguably, this could be the most absurd statement in their allegations.  However, this is the focus of their attack on TREB.  Members have the same access and availability of information, what is released to the general public has to conform with Privacy Laws regardless whether the member is operating from "bricks and mortar" or "vow"s.    29. For example, TREB considers the display of a listed property on a VOW to be "advertising" that property for sale. TREB Rule 430 requires "specific written permission from the Listing Brokerage prior to each occasion of advertising". According to TREB’s interpretation of Rule 430, to operate a VOW with the necessary full inventory of current properties for sale, a VOW broker would have to obtain specific written permission from each brokerage in the GTA, for each occasion of advertising, potentially for the up to 25,000 new listings that are added to the TREB MLS system each month. This creates a practical barrier to entry that makes it virtually impossible to operate a VOW. The Competition Bureau is requesting that TREB break Federal  Laws - Privacy and Copyright Laws - and allow its membership to violate their fiduciary duties to their clients.  The Bureau would like to see pending sold data available to everyone and disagrees with TREB's reasoning to withhold the same. The Competition Bureau is requesting that TREB release pending sold data to be available to everyone.  This is absolutely ridiculous and should never happen as it will jeapordize a seller's ability to maximize return on their largest asset - their home.  If your home is sold conditionally, the Bureau would like the details made public.  What if the conditions are not met and the deal falls through?  Now the price that you've accepted has become public knowledge?  How does that affect your negotiating ability for the next deal?  This is just absurd, and has nothing to do with competition, commission rates, "bricks and mortar" or "vow"s.  The Bureau is masking this discriminatory attack on Realtors by continued claims of trying to bring down the cost of buying/selling real estate.  Has any seller NOT been able to negotiate a rate to their satisfaction by interviewing a handful of the 30,000 plus Realtors on the Toronto Real Estate Board along with the numerous low-fee/minimum-service alternatives currently available to them?  Don't be fooled by this smoke screen.  This feels like an attempt to injure the livelihood of a certain percentage of the population by limiting, reducing or regulating their ability to earn a living.  Is this constitutional?  Should Realtors stand by and appease the Bureau by breaking Federal laws, Copyright laws, and exposing their clients to fraud and misrepresentation?  Maybe it is time for TREB, its members, CREA, all other real estate boards and their memberships to put an end to this discriminatory bullying and file a class action suit against the Competiton Bureau.   This is not about saving the consumer a dollar.  It is an ego driven, manipulative attack on an industry that has been in the spotlight over the past few years for fueling our economy and leading our nation away from the economic turmoil that is devastating many countries today.  If you had to make a name for yourself, you'd want to be associated with the hottest industry at that time, wouldn't you? I'd like to reiterate that this is not about fees, nor is this about competition.  With the thought process that went into this from the start, the Competiton Bureau may as well have singled out Mercedes Benz owners as being non-competitive.  Why should "Anita" be able to drive a Mercedes, and not her neighbours.  Regardless of if Anita furthered her education, worked hard, saved and purchased the vehicle on her own and for her family, all her neighbours should have equal access and should be able to use the vehicle without Anita's consent. The Bureau would gain public support by stating that if they "car-jack" Anita's Benz and force her to share her car with everyone in the neighbourhood then all luxury car manufacturers would be forced to lower prices on their vehicles down the road.  As I drove home tonight, I passed gas station after gas station serving up a litre of unleaded gasoline for $1.29.  Be it Petro Canada, Shell, Esso, or even the independents, 95%, if not all, are at $1.29/L tonight.  If the Competiton Bureau is concerned about price fixing and non-competetive behaviour, maybe they need to focus their efforts and put tax-payers' money to better use.  It is time that they investigate a real anti-competitive and fixed price industry.  However, they won't.  The government gets a cut on every litre.  Lost in the shuffle is the fact that they also get a cut on every Real Estate transactions through Land Transfer Taxes.  Oddly enough, Land Transfer taxes are a percentage of price as well.  Should we lower the rates for Land Transfer taxes now that property values have increased so much over the last 20 years?  Is the focus really to save the consumer some money?  Stay tuned.  We've only just begun.  Asif Khan, Sales Representative Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc. asif@asifkhan.ca