Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Satisfactory Solstice, Kwazy Kwanzaa, and Awesome Atheist Affair!
Or whatever else you’re into for which I can wish you a happy occasion, other than offering a lazy “Happy Holidays.”
I’d like to thank my regular readers/commenters: Appraiser, Chris, Kyle, Condodweller, J G, Derek, Professional Shanker, Marty, Bal, Libertarian, Ed, Verbal Kint, Clifford, Jenn, Paully, Jimbo, GinaTo, Julia, Marina, Francesca, Izzy Bedibida, RPG, Thomas, Daniel, TokyoTuds, Natrx, hoob, R, TO Planner, Frances, Andrew, J, McBloggert, Craijiji, Sigruper, Joel, other-Julia, Caroline, Pragma, Caprice, Billy O, Shana, Feerless Freep, Cyber, Geoffrey, not harold, Nathan, Mike, David, Jennifer, ChT, daniel b, KD, Peggy, Elle O’lelle, Nicole, Kramer, Karolina, Laurie, jeanmarc, Jeremy, JF, IanC, London Agent, John, Island Home Owner, Louisa, Graham, Johnny Chase, Crofty, and anybody else I may have missed after scrolling through 84 pages of comments from 2020.
Great to see both Potato and Krupo’s names appear on TRB after, I don’t know how many years. And did my eyes deceive me, or did I see Long Time Realtor post a couple of weeks back?
Maybe now we send out a search party for Housing Bear?
This is the fourteenth December sign-off here on TRB, and that just absolutely blows my mind.
The idea for Toronto Realty Blog was conceived in a Toyota Corolla on Highway-48 in the summer of 2006, and here we are, fourteen years later, a community of real estate enthusiasts, interacting on a daily basis, sometimes even agreeing on a thing or two!
Somebody once told me that when you have children, you start to see your life and the timeline therein via the ages and stages of your children. Now, having two children, I see how that’s true. But my first “baby” was Toronto Realty Blog, and as it’s now represented 35% of my life, I actually see the latter half of my life, and those stages, through the various stages of TRB.
A few months ago, I asked a question in a blog post to the effect of, “How long have you been reading Toronto Realty Blog?” The responses from the readers were fascinating, not only because of all the responses, and the answers from some of the notable commenters, but also because of the people I had never heard of who detailed how long they had been reading, as well as some folks I know, but haven’t heard from in a decade.
That merely served as yet another reminder of how long I’ve been doing this for, and I actually sat and smiled alone in my office, thinking about folks who have been reading this for more than a decade.
A decade? Really?
I’m flattered, I honestly am. I’m also honoured and humbled.
I continue to be grateful for the readership, support, and most importantly, the interaction among the readers, whether they’re commenting on my posts, or looking to engage one-another, all of which is done with a level of respect and intelligence that you won’t find anywhere else on the Internet.
That is truly saying something.
2020 was a really strange year, and we all felt it. It was tough for some and downright brutal for others. I believe, much to my surprise, that the real estate market didn’t accurately reflect the mayhem that existed across the globe, and save for a small downtick in the condo market, we escaped relatively unscathed. As a result, I think a lot of readers turned to TRB every morning for a sense of normalcy in a world which simply wasn’t providing it, and as we turn the corner to 2021, and hope to eradicate COVID from both our lives and our vernacular, I’m hoping that the conversation returns to our city, our real estate market, and our lives that are affected by both.
On Friday, I start a six-day quarantine at home with my family so that we may then get COVID tests, which reflect the potential “six-day incubation period” for the virus, and then obtain the results in time to spend Christmas with my mother at home. The week thereafter will be bliss, as my children get to interact with “Grammy” for the first time since the summer, and with the real estate market taking a break and Toronto Realty Blog on pause until the New Year, I may even find time to relax a little bit.
As tempted as I am, or any of us would be, to lament these circumstances in a “look what 2020 has come to” sort of way, I’m instead going to count my blessings, and be thankful that I get to spend a week with my mother and my family.
My unsolicited advice to all of you is this: we are way, way past the frustration phase of 2020 and the pandemic, so enjoy what you have, seek out that which makes you happy, and take it all in before we head down the arduous path to “normal life” in 2021 once again.
Have a wonderful holiday break, and I’ll see you all back here on Monday, January 4th.
David.
Francesca
at 7:10 am
David, great message to your readers and thanks for providing some levity in such a difficult year. Happy holidays to you and your family. Stay safe and healthy and looking forward to 2021 blogs!
RPG
at 9:00 am
Happy Festivus, David! Almost time for the airing of grievances!
Jenn
at 8:17 am
Merry Christmas, David! Have a wonderful time with your family!
Graham
at 8:28 am
Merry Christmas, David!
Ed
at 8:51 am
Enjoy the time with your family. Best wishes!
JG
at 8:52 am
Thanks for the great message David! Merry Christmas, and happy Satisfactory Solstice. 🙂
Enjoy the down time with the family.
hoob
at 9:08 am
*I* don’t know how long I’ve been reading it, but I’m sure Google and Firefox data bunkers do.
London Agent
at 9:09 am
Merry Christmas David! I too am hoping for a break in the market so that we may all be able to enjoy some time to ourselves and with loved ones, but I can’t stop thinking about the story you shared a couple weeks back about a potential tenant hoping to view your rental listing on December 24th. I have a feeling my holiday “break” might go more like that this year… Anyhow, all the best over the holidays and into the New Year!
Appraiser
at 9:39 am
Enjoy the time off. Cherish the memories.
All the best for 2021!
Moonbeam!
at 10:00 am
Thanx David! And best wishes for happy holidays and a happy new year to you and all the readers and commenters! Cheers, Moonbeam!
R
at 10:16 am
Deleting comments now?
David Fleming
at 10:20 am
@ R
Yours is the first comment I have deleted in a decade.
I can’t fathom why you think your words in this forum are appropriate.
I know who you are. I know why you hate real estate agents and why you troll me. But you and I have never met or spoken.
You can post as much as you want about real estate agents, myself, or whatever else bothers you. But if you step over the line, I’ll moderate.
Moonbeam!
at 10:22 am
Glad to see him deleted.
R
at 10:54 am
Your blog, you have every right to moderate as you see fit.
I realize I’m not anonymous to you and that’s fine. I have nothing personal against you. We have indeed never met and sure we’d get along fine if we did. I don’t hate real estate agents, any more than you do.
You shared publicly that you are not following the public health guidance, and I just commented on the reality of that choice. I don’t think my comment was out of line. I didn’t say anything about you personally, or your family.
We are in the middle of a pandemic that is not getting better and it is personal choices by everyone that is the reason we are where we are at. Everyone wants to be an exception and thinks the rules don’t apply to them. Every business wants to be “essential” and say’s “it’s not us”. COVID has undoubtedly affected all of our personal lives and business across the world, but it’s the “me first” attitude that hurts the most.
Be safe everyone, Happy Holidays to all and hopefully 2021 will be better if we all do what is necessary.
Jenn
at 12:06 pm
He’s not ignoring public health guidelines if he goes to a private clinic, which I am assuming that he will. I don’t mean anything bad about that, he can certainly afford to. Just that it’s not fair to throw him in the same boat with all those people are flaunting the guidelines. This isn’t something we should be discussing on this blog and especially on a lovely year end post!
R
at 10:11 pm
“Residents are reminded that having family or friends who are not members of your household in your home for a social visit as well as organizing or attending any other kind of indoor social gathering or organized public event is prohibited under the Province of Ontario’s COVID-19 response framework under the Reopening Ontario Act.”
https://www.toronto.ca/news/news-release-city-of-toronto-update-on-covid-19-2/
Jimbo
at 5:49 pm
I don’t believe in hijacking a blog about real estate to talk about something that is mostly unrelated.
That being said I trust in people’s ability to do the right things and act in everyone’s best interest to keep things safe. I know that there are those that will be lazy and not every industry is perfect as they all have bad actors but I honestly believe David would be the last person to break any rules or not put 110% effort into doing what is best. Maybe he makes an honest mistake and has to fix things as he goes but that can be said about everyone.
Now that I have that out of the way, I would like to get your opinion on something. Now that we have a vaccine, what do you think happens? Here is my thought process: we start to go back to normal, opening businesses, no more restrictions and a good portion of people continue to wear their masks. Once this happens the virus will spread, a vaccine is not a cure, it is a way to help people fight the virus off faster. Once it spreads, the death rate will be higher than it is now as those that are vulnerable will be coming into contact with more people. We have delayed the inevitable, hopefully the vaccine keeps enough people out of the hospital so regular services such as; cancer screening, post pregnancy checkup etc etc can start to happen again.
At the end of the day everyone is going to have to open and find best practices to keep as many people, as safe as possible.
Do you see things differently?
Condodweller
at 6:27 pm
There are no guarantees. The only thing you can do is reduce your chances of getting the virus. This is why the government is playing with the public to stay home and minimize contact with others.
Natrx
at 6:56 pm
You’ve probably broken countless other rules you hypocrite.
ChT
at 7:31 am
I’m sure your comment came out of pure concern for the health, safety and well being of others, right? It wasn’t a smart-ass comment.
I have a neighbour who’s like you, his first name starts with an R also…he needs to get a life too!
Happy Holidays to all but “R”… you keep watching others and those guidelines.
Jonathan
at 2:39 pm
Lol. The government is banning people from having their sister or mother over, but Costco is still open and proabably giving out samples of frozen pizza. “Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers! Now on sale: COVID.”
Get a life, R.
Bal
at 2:36 pm
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas……..
Dennis LeBlanc
at 10:36 am
Hi Dave,
First time commenter, here.
I’ve been reading only for a few short months, but already I am addicted. What a wonderful site with great content.
Thank you so very much.
Dennis.
Chris
at 10:53 am
Merry Christmas, David. Hope you and the family have a wonderful Holidays.
Jimbo
at 5:37 pm
Merry Christmas and thank you for your blog. Have a great holiday and stay healthy!!
Condodweller
at 6:06 pm
Merry Christmas/Hannukah David and family. Let’s put it this way, I have been reading the blog since before you had kids!
Kyle
at 8:18 pm
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone!
Kim
at 8:46 pm
Thanks for the entertainment and insight through 2020! Happy Holiday!
Gear74
at 6:59 am
I am long time reader of David’s blog. Hardly ever commenting. Appraiser keep up the good fight with Chris????. I am with you on this one. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone ????????????
Appraiser
at 1:11 pm
Thanks for the support @Gear74,
Never fear, for the bears are relentless and I have resolved that the price of realism is eternal vigilance.
JDF
at 9:05 am
Long time reader; rare poster. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and life events over the years.
Enjoy time with your family.
COVID has had so many negative impacts on our everyday life but one of the worst is turning us into a police state and private citizens believing they have the right to act as judge and jury.
Natrx
at 7:01 pm
Merry Christmas to all. Let’s enjoy and appreciate the times. Keep up the good work Dave and all the best for the holidays for you and your family. Enjoy the time off.
Thomas
at 7:24 am
Happy holidays David! Happy holidays everybody!
Thomas
at 8:36 am
I started following the blog while I was trying to read about Toronto RE before buying our first home here. And thanks David and everybody else for many insights through the blog and the comments. We spent over a year looking and because we were new immigrants, it took us a while to identify a neighborhood that suited us. I guess we spent more time trying to understand the pricing and I can proudly say that I havent got a clue about it yet. And looking at how the government policies are forming, sky could be the limit.
Anyway, We did buy a home in October and moved in November. We did our closing in about 15 days. This Christmas is going to be exciting!
Appraiser
at 8:56 am
Congratulations on your home purchase!
Thomas
at 4:06 pm
Thanks Appraiser! Merry Christmas!
Bal
at 7:50 pm
Congratulations !!! Thomas…….Enjoy your sweet home
Thomas
at 12:51 pm
Thanks Bal!
Julia
at 8:08 pm
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. David – thanks for all the great and thought provoking content.
Marty
at 9:39 am
Thank you, David.
Merry Christmas.
Libertarian
at 9:51 pm
Apologies for the tardiness. Hope everyone had a good Christmas.
Happy New Year!
Jonnathan Bravo
at 9:48 am
Great post David.
Appraiser
at 9:12 am
Happy New Year Everyone!!!
The pandemic is so 2020.
Appraiser
at 3:25 pm
Here’s my 2021 prediction for the real estate market in the greater golden horseshoe and most of Canada:
Unstoppable.
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at 6:14 am
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Betsey Redburn
at 2:13 pm
Hi K.K.Jhaji. Firstly, we all fail sometimes, so you are not alone and you are not defined by your failure. You seem to have lost your confidence and that’s why you’re spending time watching a lot of TV. I would encourage you to try something small. Maybe challenge yourself to read one chapter a day of a book that has to do with the course you are studying. Then try bigger challenges to build up your confidence. Work your way up to achieving your goals (passing your exams, graduating etc). All the best; I hope this helps…LikeLike
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at 8:03 am
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at 5:55 am
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