Brad Macdonald, Broker - The MAC Team

09/02/2026

As expected - Bank of Canada holding rates steady.

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25 per cent on September 2, 2026, but fixed mortgage rates are still drifting upward on rising bond yields. What Markham buyers, sellers, and homeowners facing a renewal this fall should do about it, with current local market numbers.

08/27/2026

SOLD - Suite 713, The Essential Condos, 540 Bur Oak Ave, Markham.

Offer on day two. Firm in ten days. Priced once, never reduced.

In a condo market where the average unit sits for about six weeks, that comes down to one thing: getting the price right before the sign goes up, and then holding it when the first offer comes in low.

Congratulations to our sellers.

Photos, video and the full story:

2 bedroom, 868 sq.ft. condo with a 75 sq.ft. balcony and an unobstructed south-west outlook at The Essential Condos, 540 Bur Oak Ave, Markham. $618,888.

08/24/2026

OREA vs. RECO: What’s the difference?

If you’ve ever bought or sold a home in Ontario, you’ve probably heard the names OREA and RECO.

They sound similar. They both deal with real estate. And both are important to the industry.

But they are not the same thing. Here’s the simple version:

RECO = The Regulator

The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) is the provincial regulator for real estate agents and brokerages.

RECO’s job is to protect the public. It:

• Registers real estate agents, brokers and brokerages
• Administers and enforces Ontario’s real estate legislation, including TRESA
• Sets and oversees regulatory requirements
• Investigates complaints
• Can take enforcement action when the rules aren’t followed
• Provides information to help consumers understand their rights

In simple terms: RECO makes and enforces the rules that govern real estate professionals. Registration with RECO is mandatory if you want to legally trade in real estate in Ontario.

OREA = The Association

The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) is a professional association representing REALTORS® in Ontario.

OREA’s job is to support its members and advocate on behalf of the profession. It:

• Advocates on real estate and housing issues
• Provides tools, education and resources for REALTORS®
• Develops commonly used real estate forms and clauses
• Represents the interests of its REALTOR® members

In simple terms: OREA supports and represents REALTORS®.

OREA membership is voluntary. RECO registration is not.

So why does this matter to you?

Think of it this way: One exists primarily to protect the public and enforce the rules. The other exists primarily to support REALTORS® and advocate for the profession.

And there is another important organization you may hear about:

CREA, the Canadian Real Estate Association, operates at the national level and represents REALTORS® across Canada.

Three organizations. Three different roles.

Understanding who does what is important because, as a consumer, you should know who regulates the person you’re trusting with one of the biggest financial transactions of your life.

If you’re buying or selling a home in Ontario, you can also check whether an agent or brokerage is registered and in good standing through RECO’s public registry.

Questions about how real estate is regulated in Ontario? Drop them in the comments.

08/20/2026

Our sellers exhaled this week.

Nobody outside the process really sees how much work goes into selling a home. There are weeks of decluttering and touch-ups and small repairs that have been sitting on the list for years. There is living in a house that has to look photograph-ready every single day while normal life keeps happening inside it. There is leaving for every showing and wondering how it went.

Then the offer comes in, everyone celebrates for about an hour, and the second half of the work begins. Packing a whole life into boxes. Sorting out movers and dates and utilities and address changes. Doing all of it while the closing date sits out there on the calendar, close enough to plan around but far enough away to worry about.

That is a long stretch of effort, and it does not really let up until the very end.

83 John Stiver Crescent closed this week. Everything funded, the keys went to the new owners, and our sellers finally got to stop holding their breath. In a market where plenty of deals do not survive the distance between the offer and the closing date, getting all the way to that last phone call is a genuinely good day.

That is the part of this job we are actually in it for. Not the listing photos and not the sign on the lawn, but the call at the end where everyone can relax.

Congratulations to our sellers. You earned this one.

08/16/2026

Two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and endless south-west views.

Suite 713 sits on the top floor at The Essential Condos, 540 Bur Oak Avenue, at McCowan in Berczy Village. The exposure is south-west, so the light comes through the afternoon and holds until the sun sets, and the outlook is open and unobstructed. A 75 square foot balcony opens off the living room. Directly above the suite are the large terrace, the BBQ area and the rooftop garden.

Here is the part that tends to surprise people. Seven storeys, a hundred and sixty-eight suites, and it carries the amenity list of a far larger building - a concierge, a fitness centre with a cedar sauna and full change rooms, a golf simulator in a room of its own, a media room, a party and event room with a full bar and catering kitchen, a meeting room, guest suites and a private parkette. What it does not carry is the crowd that usually comes with all of that. The lifts arrive when you call them, the corridors are quiet, and residents tend to know one another.

Inside the suite: 868 square feet on the builder's plan, nine foot ceilings, laminate flooring throughout, in-suite laundry, and a full four-piece bathroom for each of the two bedrooms. Owned underground parking and an owned locker are included. The maintenance fee is $595.60 a month and covers heat, water, central air, parking, common elements and building insurance.

Groceries, a pharmacy, banking, two gyms, a yoga studio and five places to eat all sit within a three hundred metre walk. Stonebridge Public School is 600 metres away, and the address is designated for Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School, sixth of 747 secondary schools in Ontario.

540 Bur Oak Ave., Suite 713
The Essential Condos · Berczy Village, Markham
$618,888 - Available now

Tony Sachdev & Brad Macdonald, Brokers
REMAX All-Stars Realty Inc., Brokerage

08/03/2026

Space where a body shop can legally operate is getting harder to find every year in the GTA.

Here's 6,626 sq ft of it. 25 Heritage Rd, Unit 11, Markham - automotive-zoned, drive-in door, second-floor office, sitting in an established auto corridor where the parts suppliers and paint shops are already your neighbours.

Landlord incentive in effect - details, floor plan and booking:

6,626 SF automotive-zoned industrial unit for lease in Markham's Heritage corridor. Drive-in door, second-floor office, minutes to Hwy 407.

08/03/2026

The market isn't slow. Some listings are.

43 Cornell Common Road sold in 14 days and closed in 31. Over asking, and the new owners had keys inside a single calendar month.

The close timeline was negotiated. The buyers wanted possession quickly and our sellers could accommodate it, so we structured the deal around it. That part isn't standard and we won't pretend it is.

The 14 days is the part that is repeatable. Prepare the home properly, price it to where the market actually is rather than where it would be flattering to price it, and market it like it deserves attention. Homes that get all three don't sit.

We've put the full case study online, including the parts most agents leave out: https://43cornellcommon.com

Congratulations to the sellers, and welcome to Cornell Village to the new family. ❤️

Listed, sold over asking, and closed in one calendar month. Here's how.

08/02/2026

The city of Markham did a fabulous job on this

Markham Operations staff put the pedal to the petal! 🌸💨🏎️

Check out the stunning IndyCar flowerbed outside Markham Civic Centre. This colourful masterpiece is helping build excitement as we count down to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham!

Ready for race weekend?

Learn more about the races at markham.ca/Indy

07/29/2026

Very slick!