Kinnear's Komments
Volume 16, Issue 3
May 2008
An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.
G.K. Chesterton
Julie's Scoop
Thanks to all those amazing Kinnear's Easter Kolouring Kontest entries! What a great success…and now of course, spring has sprung! With it comes all the great things we look forward to – the May long weekend, the beginning of Toronto's amazing outdoor concerts & festivities, cottage time…and of course, happily helping more clients move on to the next phase of their lives. We're happy to report that we have found the market going strong despite getting off to a later start this year. Thanks to your wonderful heartfelt introductions, we are meeting more sellers than ever before and helping spread the love (and the Julie Kinnear Team's stellar record of marketing and service) throughout the hip Toronto neighbourhoods we specialize in. Not sure if you read the Globe & Mail's Friday Real Estate Section where our clients' properties are regular weekly features in the Done Deals section! Though a number of clients find us on the web due to the (hopefully!) user-friendly, unbiased resources on our website www.lovelytorontohomes.com www.lovelytorontohomes.com, it's important that you know we always make time for you, your friends, family members or colleagues who would like to have an exceptional real estate experience.
To keep working on our 'world famous' status and to ensure you stay ahead of the curve we are continually educating ourselves on how to better serve you. KJ and Nicole recently attended a Strategic Leader seminar in Las Vegas, where they met with over 200 top real estate and mortgage consultants to discuss winning systems & strategies. Elise is currently in Chicago enjoying her first By Referral Only™ seminar – she's made a vacation out of it by bringing hubby Steve and taking a few extra days to explore the Windy City! I know she'll bring back lots of great information to help us help you…
KJ and I are proud to be participating this year in the Rennie Park Community Garage Sale on Saturday May 24! All the Royal LePage funds collected are donated to the Redwood Shelter Foundation for women & children in distress. We'd love to see you at the sale from 9 am to 1 pm or feel free to drop off any items that you'd like to contribute, to our office at 2320 Bloor St. West.
Hope you enjoy a happy & productive month,
J.
Chit Chat
- Congratulations to Degan Davis & Alie Pick! They are tying the knot on May 18th, celebrating with a weekend wedding, with guests attending from all over the world.
- Helen Bucknell is a part of the Let's Make Waves Coalition - a group of Torontonians trying to save the TDSB school pools from being closed down (recently it was voted to close 39 school pools across Toronto, approximately 1/3 of all pools in Toronto.) On May 1st, Lets Make Waves kicked off the start of National Summer Safety Week with a rally at Queen's Park. Meetings between Let's Make Waves and MPPs, City Councillors, TDSB Trustees, and David Crombie are currently in the works to ensure a solution is found. YOU can help by signing the petition on the websitewww.letsmakewaves.ca and join over 40,000 signatures - if you have any suggestions, or interest in volunteering, please email
- Dominic Atkinson & Cathy Lawson plus children James, Ben and Maggie have moved back from New Zealand after three years away from Canada. They're expecting baby #4 in September (another boy)!.
- Six-year-old Kara Blokland and her parents, Jim and Kirsten are thrilled to announce that on May 3rd, they adopted their puppy, Ruby. Ruby is a Havanese breed who is small, fluffy, white and champagne in colour, and sweet in personality! Look for Ruby and her new family on walks around BWV!
- Tiff Daniels just got engaged to Leah Smith, and popped the question while at Semiahmoo Resort in Washington State, this past weekend! She's also excited that Canadian Outback Adventures' expansion into Toronto is going very well. They produce interactive teambuilding events and group activities, and with the new Toronto office it allows Tiff to visit with ol' friends and family while in town on business...which is great!
- Allan & Kath MacDonald have decided to move back to Toronto from Calgary. They've got the house in Calgary for sale and Allan is looking for a job here, while Kath holds down the fort in Toronto.... they look forward to working with our Team again to find their next home!
- Best of luck to Alison Greene who will be starting her own law firm this month – yay!!
Babies
- Sienna Helen Wilson was born October 25, 2007 in Illinois to delighted parents Hal & Josee, & big brother Noah! Big thanks from the Wilsons to the team on helping them sell their 1st home in April which they had purchased with Julie in 2002. They are now excited about house hunting in Chicago!
- Ryan & Dana Packer are happy to announce their first daughter Ana Christine Packer was born on Feb 6th, 2008 during a nasty snowstorm. All is well and they are enjoying the sunshine now!
- Sue Bartleman & Kevin Brown and big brother Henry welcomed Catherine Elizabeth Brown on March 2, 2008!
- Piper Reid Le was born March 11, 2008 to ecstatic parents Dao and Sarah…they are selling and moving to BC in a couple of months so she will grow up a west coaster!
- The big news around Andrew & Jennifer Lane's place is the birth of their second boy, Henry, on March 24th 2008. He came 5 weeks premature but is doing just fine.
- Monique Steger & James Donnelly are thrilled to introduce the new addition to their family - James Richard Donnelly was born April 3, 2008. Elijah is a fantastic big brother!
- First daughter Lily Hannah Estelle Kellum was born on April 9, 2008 to thrilled parents Joey Reynolds & Zach Kellum, at Mt. Sinai hospital!
- Dave and Heather Timm are proud to announce that son Aidan was born on April 14th, 2008!
- Liz Doyle and Steve Harmer happily announce their 2nd child, Cole Jacob Harmer, born Friday April 18th 2008!
- Sandro & Moriah Limotta were pleased to announce their son Jake was born on April 23rd. Described as '8 pounds 2oz and very cute!'
Are you feeling like Giving Back?
- Q: How do you achieve lasting satisfaction that money can't buy?
- A: By supporting a great cause!
Our charity of the month is Covenant House - actively supported by Julie & Nicole of our Team.
Did you know...
The Returns for Leukemia Research is almost here again…a chance to put your empties to a great cause! Help this worthy organization reach its goal of raising $500,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada. Take part in the 2008 bottle drive, Returns for Leukemia Research - donate your empty wine, beer and spirit containers the weekend of May 24 & 25 at The Beer Store locations across Canada. – www.bottledrive.ca
Market Watch
April statistics show that 8,762 houses sold in the Greater Toronto Area. "The market continues to experience a supply and demand situation and to-date it remains a sellers market," said TREB President Maureen O'Neill.
The GTA market was down 7 per cent from last April's record 9,452 transactions. However, it is showing signs for a healthy 2008 compared to the diminished activity during the first quarter of 2008.
Prices continued to appreciate last month, to a GTA average of $398,687, up eight per cent from last April's $367,968. The average price in the City of Toronto was $446,781, up six per cent from April 2007.
"For more than a decade, real estate has served as the economy's engine," said Ms. O'Neill. "It's encouraging to see that consumers are continuing to put their faith in real estate as an excellent long term investment."
NEIGHBOURHOOD CORNER
The Beaches and Riverdale – March 2008
In the first quarter of 2008, TREB Members sold 153 houses in The Beaches (E-2) for an average of $542,362, up 17% over the three month average in 2007 of $461,311. Riverdale (E-1) saw 173 sales averaging $438,453, up 13% over the $389,001 recorded during the same span last year.
The JKT-List: A Few of Our Favourite Things!
- Jen
- loved The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton. She's sure most people have read it, since it is Canada's best seller of all time, but if you haven't, give it a try! Very entertaining as a 'common sense guide to successful financial planning'. Jen also can't get enough of PC Hot Dog first buns – what a great idea! Since Jen mostly eats veggie dogs, there's usually just too much bun for the poor little wiener. These thin whole grain buns are an alternative.
- Elise
- fell in love with Adagio Teas. A website filled with Fresh tea, cool accessories and ton of useful information. With hundreds of varieties of tea leaves, and over 1500 user submitted blends, Adagio takes tea far beyond the basic Orange Pekoe. As if she needs another reason to shop there, all the teas, including the $2 Samplers come in cute reusable tins.
- KJ
- discovered Kew Beach Park in the Beaches between Queen and the water. It is an unbelievable park for kids. Well worth the drive and it is also ideal to be able to walk along the water before or after playing in the park.
- Julie
- loved taking Mary out for her birthday lunch to Holt Renfrew Cafe - airy modern decor, professional friendly service, the very reasonably priced gourmet lunch is delicious, and the tables are spread out to make it easy to converse.
- Nicole
- really loved the Octagon Steak House in Newmarket – yes the air really is thinner up there, but the impeccably prepared steak & seafood, along with the gorgeous décor, is well worth it!
Curious George
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 Nicole directly at:
The Julie Kinnear Team's GEMs (Genuine Evidence of Merit)
'We most enjoyed working with Julie's team. KJ and Jen were wonderful in fitting in with our schedules as well as their knowledge around investment property rentals.'
Kim & Andrew Grace
What They Got! A continuing column of the Julie Kinnear Team's Sales
382 Runnymede Road
382 Runnymede Rd.
BWV
Asking Price: $519,900
Selling Price: $576,000
100 Pine Crest Avenue
100 Pine Crest Ave.
High Park
Asking Price: $599,900
Selling Price: $605,000
222 The Esplanade #633
222 The Esplanade #633
Downtown
Asking Price: $249,000
Selling Price: $251,000
Mortgage Rates courtesy of Dominion Lending for May 13, 2008
Rates are subject to change without notice.*OAC E&OE
Prime Rate is 4,75%
Variable rate mortgages from as low as Prime minus 0,65%
Green is Good for Business
Small Biz TIP from BizLaunch
You're likely doing everything you can at home to reduce, recycle and reuse, but what about at work? With these simple measures your business could do a lot to protect the environment.
- Buy more bins. Make it easy for your employees to recycle paper and plastic by simply placing an extra bin near their workstation. Put a large bin for electronic waste (such as old fax machines or computers) in a central spot and contact a recycling company to empty it regularly.
- Appoint a 'Green Leader.' Ask one of your employees to lead your company's recycling efforts. Make it part of his or her job to assess current recycling practices, make recommendations, implement new measures and to encourage other employees to support your green mission.
- Do little things. Going green shouldn't take a lot of time or effort. Little things like turning off the lights at night, lowering the thermostat or taking public transit will reduce your carbon footprint.
- Turn green into sales. Tell your customers what your business is doing to protect the environment by adding a "Green Policy" page to your website, a paragraph in your next newsletter or a line in your promotional materials. It will give your customers one more reason to buy from you.