Are you a cross border shopper that is rejoicing at the beefed up loonie? Well, you are not alone. Canadians are traveling south of the border in droves to scoop up bargains on everything from clothing to cars. Every day there are news reports of record breaking lines at the border crossings. But even that is not a deterrent for motivated Canadians.

Our loonie is finally worth something and we’re going to do everything that we can to take advantage of its buying power. Unfortunately, the very thing that keeps you chanting, “Go Loonie Go”, is spelling disaster for Toronto hotels.

The strong loonie is creating terrible problems for the tourism industry. As a result Toronto hotels are seeing greater losses in American tourists than the SARS epidemic caused. The weak dollar impelled the Americans to come to Canada and get a great bang for their buck. The weaker the Canadian dollar the higher the occupancy was in Toronto hotels. Now the strong loonie coupled with a weak American economy, high gas prices, and long border line-ups has kept Americans at home instead of coming to Toronto to shop, see theatre, wine and dine, and stay in our hotels. The migration of tourists has shifted. Instead of traveling north, we are now traveling south.

Part of the problem is us. As Canadians we have always been very weak at promoting ourselves. With a very weak dollar we became complacent, because that alone was enough to drive tourism here. We never waxed poetic about our fabulous theatres, incomparable wine country, magnificent restaurants, and amazing attractions – everything that makes a great city great. Let’s start getting our message out there and let’s start filling up the Toronto hotels again.

Location, location, location has always dictated the real estate prices in Toronto. Competition is fierce and everyone is looking for a way to lure in the moneyed set. It seems that Toronto condo builders have found a hook, and that hook is culture.

High priced condominiums and culture are truly a match made in heaven and driving the cost of living in Toronto in a downtown condo higher and higher. Condo projects that are near museums, concert halls, or cultural events are selling like proverbial hotcakes in spite of price tags that can extend well into the millions of dollars.

There is a certain element of the population that wants a connection with culture even if all that they are going to do is look at it. It does offer a certain cache, doesn’t it? A new high-rise condo is being built directly across the street from the new ROM expansion and yet another is slated to go up next to the Sony Centre. However, the most prestigious and sought after of the new projects on the books may be the Festival Tower which will be going up alongside the new home of the Toronto International Film Festival, located at the corner of King St. and John St. Privileges of living in the Festival Tower will include being first in line for festival tickets.

Would you choose to buy a condominium because of its proximity to a museum or the film festival? Is this really any different that buying a place on a golf course?

Did you know that “extended stay” is the fastest growing segment in the hospitality industry today? ELEMENT Hotels which launched in 2006 and has set out to capture this market is getting ready to launch its first Canadian Toronto hotel. Called the ELEMENT Toronto Downtown, this exciting extended stay Toronto hotel will be open and ready to do business in January 2009. Its 220 guestrooms are being created to maximize both productivity and relaxation. Ideally located on Front Street West, guests will be in close proximity to the heart of the financial district, as well as the sights, landmarks, culture, and entertainment that Toronto has to offer.

Extended stay hotels are designed to recreate a residential feel for travelers who spend a lot of time on the road. The ELEMENT Toronto hotel will be designed to make travelers as comfortable as possible and ensure that their suites are fully equipped with features including multi-purpose modular furniture, entertainment units equipped with flat screen televisions, fully equipped kitchens, and spa showers. On site will be a fitness centre, 700 square feet of meeting space, a technology centre, and an outdoor fire pit and barbeque where guests can meet each other and enjoy a meal and drink together.

A complimentary breakfast of hot breakfast sandwiches, smoothies, coffee, and tea will be served daily. The staff is trained to be attentive and intuitive, never intrusive. These properties marry the best of hotel living with the touches of home.

When you look at the Toronto skyline and see construction everywhere in the downtown core, do you wonder who they keep building all of these condos for? The downtown core of the Greater Toronto Area is actually one of the fastest growing communities in the GTA, with no signs of slowing down.

The new residents are a condo developer’s dream – educated, well off, and childless. In the last 5 years approximately 17,000 new housing units were built to accommodate the over 165,000 people that have moved into downtown Toronto during that same period.

Surprising enough, most of the new downtown GTA residents have not arrived from the suburbs. They were already Greater Toronto Area residents, many of them moving within 5 kilometres of their previous address. What is not surprising is that the largest demographic moving into new downtown Toronto condos is the 25 – 39 age bracket. They are young, upwardly mobile, and childless. In fact only 4% of the newly built condos have children living there. Although families with children are living in the downtown Greater Toronto Area, they are moving into older condos, as are the seniors. As more and more people keep moving into downtown GTA, the building of more condos will continue as we watch Toronto grow higher and higher.

Does your garden need fluffing? Did you even know that a garden could be fluffed? In Toronto’s hot real estate market, the curb appeal of your home can make the difference in how quickly your house sells and it can greatly affect the selling price. Garden fluffing isn’t just for folks with large yards. As a matter of fact garden fluffing can be of great benefit even if you don’t have a yard. Outdoor spaces, whether they are backyards, terraces, or balconies can have a great impact on the perceived value of your home. In recent years we seem to be using our outdoor spaces more and more. We eat outdoors, relax outdoors, and even work outdoors. I use my balcony as an extra room in the summer.

Garden fluffing may involve nothing more than a little sprucing up – pretty flowers in planters, new patio furniture, or pressure washing the deck. Or it can be pretty pricey – landscaping, or replacing driveways and walkways. There are professionals called “home stagers” who will professionally fluff your yard, terrace, or balcony. I did a google search for home stagers in Toronto. Follow the link below for the results.

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=home+stagers+in+toronto&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryCA

The Beaches, or the Beach if you want to be politically correct, is the city’s best known Lakeside community. Just 15 minutes from downtown Toronto, the Beach runs along Queen St. east between Coxwell and Victoria Park. If you are planning to visit by TTC, go to the Queen St. station and take the streetcar eastbound. By car from downtown Toronto, take the Gardiner Expressway east and exit on Coxwell or Woodbine. Once you reach Queen Street, turn east. If you are coming from North Toronto, take the Don Valley Parkway, exit on Richmond Street, go north to Queen, then go east.

The style of living in the Beaches is laid back and outdoorsy, although very upscale. Young upwardly mobile professionals share this community with growing families and those who are drawn to outdoor activities. The Beaches are famous for tennis, sailing, canoeing, windsurfing, beach volleyball, rollerblading, bicycling, swimming, lawn bowling, kite flying, skating, cross-country skiing, and hiking. And Queen St. itself reflects the diversity of the community with an eclectic mix of antique and curiosity shops, and trendy bars and restaurants. The Beaches’ most famous landmark is The Boardwalk. The social centre of the Beaches neighbourhood is Kew Gardens which hosts many annual events including the fabulous Beaches International Jazz Festival. The line-up for the 2007 Jazz Fest looks better than ever. Check it out here. http://www.beachesjazz.com/home.html

Just a short ferry ride from Harbourfront is one of the most unique of all of the Toronto neighbourhoods - the charming Toronto Island community. Contrary to popular belief this is a vibrant year-round family oriented community. Over 600 people live in the 262 homes that are situated on 33 acres of land. In case you still have any doubts as to whether this is truly a family oriented community you may be interested to know that 200 of the 600 residents are children. The Island community itself occupies only 4% of the entire area of the 825 acres which is the total area of the Toronto Islands. The Island Parklands occupy 576 acres while the Island Airport is located on 213 acres. Homeownership on the Island is quite different than what most of you envision. Although the residents own their homes, they do not own their land. They lease their lots from the Toronto Island Land Trust. Private sales are prohibited in order to prevent anyone from making a profit from publicly owned land. Home sales are strictly regulated by the Island Trust, which oversees a public list of potential buyers. Only children and spouses of Island homeowners may inherit their homes. All Island homeowners must occupy their homes as their principal residence. In order to satisfy this requirement they must be in residence on the Island for a minimum of 220 days per year. In spite of these restrictions, the residents love their way of life. In fact 37% of the adult population has lived on the Island for 35 years or more and 67% of the adult population has lived on the Island for 20 years or more. How’s that for a ringing endorsement of Island living? Would like to move to the Island? Are you already on the “waiting list”?

One thing that everyone agrees upon is that Harbourfront is now prime real estate, making it attractive to both the private sector and the public sector. With a view to the potential economic benefits to the city, many short term and long term plans for the Waterfront have been developed in order to maximize these opportunities. I won’t bore you with the details. All of the plans can be found by following this link. http://www.toronto.ca/waterfront/reports.htm#fiveyearplan

The Waterfront revitalization plans have great potential. And, many of the ideas and plans seem to make good sense. They include everything from revitalizing and reusing structures such as the Canada Malting Silos on Bathurst Quay to supporting the arts, culture, and heritage programs in Harbourfront. However, public development may be at odds with private investment, as more and more condominiums are developed, overshadowing the green spaces. In essence, it is these green spaces which bring people together and help to create “the neighbourhood identity”. What seems to be lacking is vision and the courage to develop Harbourfront in a way that creates a real neighbourhood and not merely a tourist attraction with incongruous high rise condominiums that is booming in the summer months and desolate the rest of the year.

There is a good deal of mixed emotion concerning these plans, and a good deal of concern. How will these plans impact local business and property values? Who will be paying for all of this? Some feel that the Waterfront revitalization plans are positive for Harbourfront and for the city. Others feel that they are merely ‘cash grab’ opportunities, with little or no regard for Harbourfront as a neighbourhood. On which side to your sentiments lie?