Initial proposed rendering for building at Allan & Randall downtown Oakville

The Town of Oakville announced this week that it has reached a settlement with Rosehaven Homes Limited and Melrose Investments Inc., regarding a number of new development proposals in downtown Oakville.  The settlement reduces the scale of their development proposals in downtown Oakville and avoids having to go through an appeal to the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board).

The Town feels that the revised proposals better fit the Town’s ‘Livable Oakville’ vision.  ”This settlement achieves the objectives of the Livable Oakville Plan and assists in the implementation of our recently completed Downtown Oakville Strategic Review – a review developed through participation of the downtown BIA and area residents,” Mayor Rob Burton said. “We are always pleased when developers work with us in furthering our vision of a vibrant and commercially stable downtown. It’s reinvesting for the future.”

The details of the settlement are as follows:

• 153 and 157 Reynolds Street – Melrose Investments Inc. and Rosehaven Homes Limited had applied to construct a 9-storey condo apartment building. The settlement revises the plan to construct six freehold townhouses instead.
• 296, 300, 312, Randall Street, 293 Church Street, 131 and 135 Trafalgar Road – Melrose Investments Inc. and Rosehaven Homes Limited had proposed the construction of two, new, 6-storey mixed use residential / commercial buildings. Through the settlement, they have agreed to construct one, 4-storey building with retail along the first floor and condominium residential units above. The developers will also be required to restore and refurbish 293 Church Street, which the Town of Oakville will be designating a heritage property.
• 132 and 136 Allan Street – The initial proposal was to build an 11-storey condo building. The settlement agrees to the construction of a 6-storey condo building that will be used for either office or residential uses.
• In exchange for allowing the 6-storey building at 132 and 136 Allan Street, the developers will be required to provide 20 parking spaces to the town of Oakville for the purpose of a public parking lot. The public parking lot will be located on the 296, 300, 312, Randall Street, 293 Church Street, 131 and 135 Trafalgar Road properties with access to the parking lot from Trafalgar Road.

For further information, visit the news release from the Town of Oakville.

Ryan Chelak is a licensed Real Estate Broker serving the Oakville, Burlington, Mississauga Real Estate Markets. Original article found at www.iBlogOakville.com

I remember a few years ago when someone said that social media was a fad. Here is some interesting statistics that show how important social media has become in regards to networking and business.

• 96% of millenials have joined a social network

• If facebook were a country it would be the world’s third largest with over 500 million users.

10 Largest Facebook Countries (statistics taken from checkfacebook.com)

1. United States 148,216,200

2. Indonesia 34,319,040

3. United Kingdom 27,917,760

4. Turkey 25,127,700

5. Philippines 21,759,280

6. France 20,378,620

7. India 19,895,420

8. Mexico 19,744,200

9. Italy 17,792,580

10. Canada 16,887,320

• The average facebook user spends 55 minutes a day on the site. That works out to 6.5 hrs a week.

• Over 50% of users are women in Canada.

• The fastest growing segment is over 40 years of age.

• Over 25% of Canadian users are between the ages of 25-34 (4.2 million people)

• Over 16% of Canadian users are between the ages of 35-44 (2.7 million people)

• Over 11% of Canadian users are between the ages of 45-54 (almost 2 million people)

Just the stats above should convince you that the realtor that you use should be a social marketing pro!!

• 78% of consumers trust social peer recommendations. Only 14% of consumers trust advertisements

• Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world. Google owns Youtube and google is displaying youtube videos on its search results.

• 34% of bloggers post opinions about products and services.

• 80% of companies are using social media for recruitment.

• 90% of these companies are using Linkedin as their primary tool for recruitment. (The note to take here is that people are using Social Media as a tool to research someone before their hire them)

• 50% of the mobile internet traffic in the UK is used for facebook. The US is a close second.

• Users of Linkedin have one of the highest average household incomes of any website $109,000

• 45% of linkedin users are the primary decision makers in the house.

If a realtor is not using social media I believe that they will not be in business in 5 years. Social Media is not a fad. It is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate as a society.

The future is today and the real estate professional that has the biggest reach (the biggest online network) will be the one that will drive the most traffic. This will translate into more exposure for your property.

Before you pick just any old real estate agent to sell your home, make sure that they understand social media marketing. If they do not, perhaps you should be speaking to a different real estate agent.

Rich Fournier is a real estate agent who just happens to specialize in marketing real estate through social media marketing.

When thinking Real Estate think Rich!!

From: Rich Fournier
The Fournier Hughes Team

...“It is now 2011 and Canada’s economy appears to be in less danger of slipping into recession. Consumer confidence is back with strong retail sales in most sectors. The Christmas season was one of bigger spending than ever before, so I anticipate we will witness a very slow and stable real estate market for 2011,” states OMDREB President Jack McCrudden.

“Much of the real estate activity in early 2010 was driven by fear of big increases in interest rates and introduction of the HST. For 2011, with the tighter rules for mortgage qualification and the tie in with long term interest rates, many who can afford to buy a home will have a harder time qualifying for the highest rate mortgage. All these factors combined will lead to a stable and steady market through2011.” ...

Source: The Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board

From: Rich Fournier
Rich Fournier Hughes Team