Real Talk!

An article in today’s Peterborough Examiner attempts to explain how average home prices in that area increased 3% last year while prices fell a reported 14% per cent on average across the country. Citing a recent Toronto Star article, John Bowes (a veteran Peterborough real estate broker) said, “Prices increased last year in half the cities across Canada.”

Bowes blames generalized media reports for the glum perspective we see in many current real estate market news reports and emphasizes that while prices may have fallen substantially in some overheated markets, such as Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, prices did not fall in many other markets. It certainly appears to be a case of seeing the glass half full, rather than half empty.

An Angus Reid Strategies poll conducted last week, found 82% Canadians feel that the inauguration of Barack Obama will have a positive impact on consumer confidence in Canada. The tumultuous times that characterized the end of 2008 are not anticipated to define 2009, the survey says, noting nearly half of the respondents said they believe the public funds Ottawa is just about to pump into the economy will have a positive impact on the country's real estate market

& more locally… today’s front page of “The Bancroft Times” includes an in-depth article written by Barry Hendry about the town hall meeting held on January 22nd.
Dignitaries who attended included MP Daryl Kramp, Mayor Lloyd Churchill, our town councilors, Wayne Simpson (President of Evanco Development Corp.), John Weir (of OEB Enterprises), Greg Black (OEB Coordinator for the Bancroft project) and designer Steve Moorhead (of Forrec Limited).

Mr Simpson (of Evanco) provided an overview, with tribute given to the 1997 Design Dialogue and reports of Trevor Hesselink and also the 1999 York River Corridor Concepts plan. He was, he said, heartened to see what people in this community have been envisioning for years.

Steve Moorhead (Forrec) explained that he met the owner of Evanco at Expo ’67 and has enjoyed a cooperative relationship with that firm, ever since. He explained that his company, Forrec Ltd, had designed parts of Universal Studios in Orlando Florida, Legolands in Germany & California and Canada’s Wonderland. Projects in Muskoka, included the Muskoka Boat and Heritage Centre as well as the Grandview Resort in Muskoka.

The meeting unveiled proposed plans for Bancroft, these include parks, walkways and bridges with large green spaces, a three story civic building, a Heritage Centre/Museum, community centre, accommodation and more.

John Weir, now a resident of this area, let the attendees in on a little known secret: Bancroft has the highest traffic count in Eastern Ontario. Greg Black of OEB explained that this project will bring together the community and combine the efforts of the six community committees already hard at work in the area and give people even more reason to visit or relocate to this incredibly beautiful area.