“Everything’s approved these days. Tract houses. Honking big hotels in Old Town. Condos. Towers. Heritage house mutilations. Meanwhile, the housing market’s gone icy. Sales are rare. Prices under pressure,” writes Garth Turner.
“Does Virgil need 150 more families? Can the developer even flog that many new homes from plans and a sales trailer? Now that we’ve got a new wave of job-sucking Trump tariffs coming on April 2, was the Great Pine Slaughter a tad premature?” writes Garth Turner.
“It’s gone too far. Every act of resistance is justified. Canada cannot be annexed, occupied or held. Americans made a grave error,” writes Garth Turner.
“On both sides of the border this is going to mean people losing their jobs,” says Kathy Weiss, head of the local Chamber of Commerce. “So, discretionary spending is going to drop, while Canadians are also boycotting American goods. It’s a dangerous combination.”
“It’s not a happy time to be an elected person in this bucolic burg. It seems that historic protest outside town hall last summer was more a harbinger than a one-off eruption,” writes Garth Turner.
Regular addicts may recall my encounter with NOTL Museum. It was a fine summer day. A heritage festival was in full swing out on the street. Perfect for a town that rose from
The house on the corner is still for sale. A year now. They got an offer the other day for 90 per cent of the asking price, but signed it back. Full price.
Ed from Rochester was walking into the Stagecoach when Cody and I walked out, still chewing a Milkbone. (Cody, not me.) “So, why is Trump doing this to us?” I asked after seeing
How do you wrestle an opinion out of someone? Simple. Insult them. Or at least try. Eben knows that. “Why so sheepish man?” he asked after reading last week’s pathetic posting (mostly about
“What’s worse than NOTL becoming a theme park? Why, turning into a cartel, of course. David Gilchrist says it’s already here, aided by the bandidos at town hall,” writes Garth Turner.
“Is bowing to tourism why people are encouraged to buy houses, flip them into motels, shrinking the supply of homes and creating businesses that don’t pay business taxes?” writes Garth Turner.
“We have made citizens who enter politics into punching bags. They’re not regular people trying to make a difference, helping the common good anymore. Over time they become the enemy, responsible for every failure, annoyance and hardship their constituents endure,” writes Garth Turner.
It’s probably the ugliest listing around. Basically, a garage glued to a box. On a narrow lot. No trees. But for $1.6 million it could be your own NOTL income property. Not far
“We should respect each other, of course, and the past. But let’s be more proud than ashamed,” writes Garth Turner.
“The changes to increase affordability are costly, cash-flow punishing, increase indebtedness and trick the financially illiterate (like the finance minister, apparently) into a false conclusion,” writes Garth Turner.
“In weeks, Trump will take office. His aggressive cabinet picks suggest what he said in the campaign is what he’s going to do. That has a bunch of economists losing their lunch. The consensus is his agenda will end up whacking Canada,” writes Garth Turner.
“It’s clearly time for a real estate update, especially now that we understand where Donald Trump is headed. Expect surprises in the next year or two regarding mortgage rates,” writes Garth Turner.
“Trump may have his wall. Gerry has his. One is designed to keep people out. The other says come on in,” writes Garth Turner.
“If you want to have a B&B, this town is your pal. Other places ban the practice of renting out a room or a suite short-term unless you live in the place. Not here,” writes Garth Turner.
Why did Tony Caldwell pay $200,000 more than asking for an uninhabitable and vacant pile that cleaners refused to enter without hazmat gear? Garth Turner speaks with the man who just bought the “mould house” in Old Town about his plans to preserve this heritage home.
“It’s worth remembering why people always wanted to come to this place. Now more than ever,” writes Garth Turner.
“In the last 90 days, virtually nothing sold for more than $1.5 million. The average house takes over 100 days to get an offer — and six in ten are conditional on the buyer being able to sell,” writes Garth Turner.
“One fear is Trump will ultimately tank our dollar, stall the economy and add almost 2 per cent to mortgage rates. But there’s no guarantee, of course, he’d govern with the same machismo as he campaigns. Let’s hope so,” writes Garth Turner.
“The public mood is sour. Houses are crazy. High rates didn’t bring lower prices. There are still 8,000 people in NOTL without a family doctor. And now there’s employment anxiety,” writes Garth Turner.
“The scenic cornrows of grapes, the river’s majesty, the horses and storybook gardens of the Old Town hide a troubling anti-establishment buzz. Animosity is growing,” writes Garth Turner.
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