Kinnear's Komments
Vol. 24, Issue 3, May 2016
Julie's Scoop
Happy May 2-4 everyone! Enjoy the long weekend! What a weird spring for weather - just as I write this it has been bright and sunny then hailing/raining - fluctuating 10-15-20 degrees within a day or two. It certainly has not dampened the exciting spring market real estate rush, nor the anticipation of the long weekend at the cottage!
KW Red Day
As Jen mentioned in her favourite things - we also just finished up RED DAY with Keller Williams - our brokerage world wide takes time on May 12 to give back to the community their office is in - and find a project to help on. That means approximately 120,000 - yes one hundred and twenty thousand realtor volunteers in cities and towns across North America, as well as Europe, Vietnam, South Africa etc were out there raising money and/or donating their time.
It is incredibly powerful and prideful to be part of such a movement, and who have such a strong value system. By the same token, KW has also started a KW Kids charity to help our realtors and their children afford post secondary education, as well as KW Cares provides support for families in time of extreme hardship, and have just donated to the Fort McMurray relief effort. More RED Day pictures here.
At the investment seminar
In other events, our team held an investment seminar recently to help educate all of you about all the different opportunities out there. There are a variety of options and it is much easier and more straightforward than you might think. We have requests to hold another one as well, which will be likely later this year- so keep an eye out! Think about it - you put 20% down, and end up owning 100% of it with someone else (the tenant) paying the 80%! Wow! How else can you make that kind of $$? One rule of thumb of many that was covered: it has to cash flow positively. Not worth buying something you will lose money on, and you can’t count on the market to go up to make any $$ on it.
The Investment Seminar
Are you planning on buying or selling RIGHT now? Our team was interviewed recently and published an article on our website that you might find very helpful "Surviving on the Front Lines of a Downtown Toronto Bidding War: A Guide for the Buyers" This is your ticket to win in this very hectic real estate market. We share some of our most valuable tips and tricks - so you can actually secure the home of your dreams.
guiding you home,
Julie
P.S. Thank you in advance for donating to the Ride to Conquer Cancer. This is my 8th year riding and we are all determined that Cancer Be Beat!
Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day
Chit Chat
- Mary Palacios celebrates a milestone on May 31st! Early retirement here we come! Co-workers held a huge retirement party for her on May 10th at the Mimico Cruising Club. What a special fun night of sharing funny stories, memories, laughter & tears. They will all miss her but now Mary is on to her next chapter in life "Freedom 55". We all wish you exciting new adventures and opportunities including golf, curling and gourmet meals.
- A big congrats to Pete Lilly on being named the #1 Bike store in Toronto by Blog TO!
- Congratulations to Ritu Sethi for being one of the finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award/Mainstream Mystery on her book Coded For Murder!
- A great big shout out to Tracey Sloga’s boot company, Boot Rescue! What an entrepreneur and adventure to be on - ideal and inexpensive product to keep your boots looking good after the damaging winter weather.
Babies
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- Melanie Plewes and Sean Hurley are thrilled to announce that they have three lovely little girls in the family with the birth of baby Maeve Plewes Hurley, who arrived on March 11th, 2016! Welcome Maeve!
- Layne Young and Chris Moore welcome their new bundle of joy Ronan Kenneth Moore born on May 1st, 2016. Grandma Jane and grandpa Rory are over the moon. Welcome Ronan!
Record Home Sales in April
May 4, 2016 - Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean announced a record number of sales for the month of April for the GTA, which was up by 7.4% in comparison to April 2015.
For the TREB market area as a whole, annual sales growth was experienced for all major home types except semi-detached houses. In the City of Toronto, sales were down for detached and semi-detached houses as well as townhouses on a year-over-year basis. This dip in sales in the '416' area code was due to a lack of low-rise listings. Many would-be buyers were not able to find a home that met their needs.
"While April's sales result represented a new record for sales, that number could have been even higher if we had benefitted from more supply. The lack of available inventory, coupled with record sales, continued to translate into robust annual rates of price growth," said Mr. McLean.
Home selling prices continued to trend upward in April. The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 12.6% year-over-year. The average selling price was up by 16.2%. The higher growth rate reported for the average home price, as compared to the MLS® HPI, points to a greater share of high-end home sales this year compared to last.
"As we move into the busiest time of the year, in terms of sales volume, strong competition between buyers will continue to push home prices higher. A greater supply of listings would certainly be welcome, but we would need to see a number of consecutive months in which listings growth outpaced sales growth before market conditions become more balanced," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.
Feeling like Giving Back?
The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer – The Proud Mary’s
Website: conquercancer.ca
This is now my 8th year for the ride - despite the grueling training schedule & weekend ride it is a fantastic opportunity to go out and raise even more funds for my favourite hospital that saved my life. The Proud Mary’s will ride over a two-day cycling event spanning over 200 kilometres throughout Ontario’s picturesque countryside on June 11-12th.
The Proud Mary's
I am so grateful each year to all of my loyal supporters and would like to ask this year if you could help support my sister Kathryn Kinnear who faithfully rides with me every year.
To donate TODAY to my ride! Go to this link click on "Donate Now".
Youtube Channel
Many of our clients have had their personal experiences with The JKT caught on video instead of the regular written word – they're even posted on YouTube! We so appreciate your kind testimonials. Our YouTube channel is growing exponentially and has had over 276,770 hits!
The JKT Inukshuk Club Members
This year our team has decided to honour those people who have so generously referred us to their friends and family. We have nicknamed it the “JKT Inukshuk Club”. Below is a sampling of some of the members. Thank you for your continued trust, support and loyalty!
The Julie Kinnear Team's GEMs
(Genuine Evidence of Merit)
"Hi Holly, This is just a quick note to thank you for all your assistance in preparing my house for sale. You helped with a number of things including… 1) Helping me find someone for the electrical issues of the house. 2) The storage opportunities in a "Pod". 3) Help finding a terrific place for carpeting. 4) All the suggestions on how to improve the "look" of the house and prepare for the open house. Then there was the final offer evening. It has all gone quite smoothly. So I thank you for all your help again. Kind regards, Jane"
What they got!
More of our happy buyers & sellers!
A continuing column of the Julie Kinnear Team’s sales…
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291 Bessborough Drive ~ Leaside Sold Over Asking |
2 Roxborough Street #401 ~ Rosedale Sold Under Asking |
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100 Smithwood Drive ~ Etobicoke Sold Over Asking |
700 King Street West #1112 ~ King West Sold Under Asking |
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149 Franklin Avenue ~ Junction Triangle Sold Over Asking |
781A Willard Avenue ~ Bloor West Village Sold Over Asking |
See a For Sale Sign/Sold you were wondering about? We are happy to let you know about houses in your neighbourhood - feel free to contact Claire at:
Our Purpose
Our purpose is for you to be so outrageously happy with the service we provide that you gladly refer us to your friends and family before you’ve even bought or sold with us!
Mortgage rates
Courtesy of Carrie Davidson - Dominion Lending Centres Service
First Mortgages #12089 License #M08003121
www.carriedavidson.com
Phone: 416-693-6946
The JKT – A few of our Favourite things:
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Gini
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Claire
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Tyler
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Holly
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Jen
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Julie
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