Yeah, I said it – “Merry Christmas.”

I refuse to take part in the “Happy Holidays” mumbo-jumbo, and although I am a hardened atheist and Christmas does not invoke even the slightest religious response in my body, I still love the last two weeks in December more than any other time of the year.  I purposely chose that photo above that has nothing to do with religion, but I’m sure that somewhere, some place, somebody will take offense to it…

It’s been a very interesting year for the Toronto Realty Blog.

We got off to a rough start with my post “Realtors & Social Media” that divided my industry like Moses parting the Red Sea…

Then my post about “Foundry Lofts” set off a small war and resulted in letters being sent to my broker.  Oh well.  I still think the inside of that building looks like a prison…

My trip to Mount Kilimanjaro made for either the most exciting posts in the blog’s history, or simply non-essential narratives that readers skipped over.  Pick your poison…

Then my adventures with “West Side Lofts” began, and I think I made some friends in the public sector, and some (more) enemies in the construction and development industry.

All the while, I have never strayed from my objective to speak the absolute truth at all times regarding the happenings in the real estate industry, consequences be damned.

People might not agree with what I say all the time; I just ask that they respect my endeavour to give my opinions where my counterparts simply refuse to do anything but take the middle ground.

There are some very interesting times ahead for our industry, and while I have purposely refused to comment on the CREA vs. Competition Bureau war, I think our industry will undergo some changes.  Personally, I welcome the addition of discount brokers to our industry.  It gives us a chance to differentiate ourselves from the pack, justify our professional fees, and ultimately I think it will hold Realtors more accountable while weeding out some of the people that perhaps shouldn’t be in the business in the first place.  To be brutally honest, I think discount brokers will fade within 2-3 years as consumers continually get screwed (or screw themselves) and lawsuits run rampant, but I think the consumer deserves the chance to make up his or her own mind.

I’d like to thank all my readers for either your continued support, or your continued personal attacks on the comments forum.  Both love and hate are welcomed and encouraged, and the delicate balance of both is what makes this blog interesting.

My blog will be undergoing a small facelift in 2011 just to keep things fresh.  Any ideas or opinions on how to improve the site are welcome!

I only had two blog stalkers this year, and I’m really hoping to attract more psychotic females (or males…) in 2011.  Then, and only then, can I achieve my dream of playing myself in a made-for-tv movie about the trials and tribulations of a 30-year-old blogger who ends up handcuffed in the back of a trunk…

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Be thankful for what you have, and more importantly, who you have around you.

David.